


Together we are weak

by thetimeisnow



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angry Sex, Angst, Denial of Feelings, Falling In Love, Hunters, Hurt/Comfort, Jealous Theo Raeken, Jealousy, M/M, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Post s6b, Protective Liam, Protective Scott, Protective Theo, Sexual Tension, Slow Build, soon to be smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2019-10-20 03:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 84,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17614157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetimeisnow/pseuds/thetimeisnow
Summary: Liam spread the map across the table, glancing up at Mason, Corey, Nolan and Malia in front of him. How did Scott usually do this? He pointed at the marked spot in the right corner."Alright", he said hesitantly, "here's where the hunters were last seen, by Melissa and Argent when they were out… on a date?" He looked up to see if anyone else found it as weird as he did. They didn't. "Anyways, and Melissa said they were setting up camp in one of the caves in the outskirts of Beacon Hills, and Chris said that he saw… he saw…" Liam took a deep breath. "A picture of me with a knife in my head", he rushed out, not wanting to accept the meaning behind that."Very scary.""Who let him in, again?" Malia asked, glaring back at Theo who was standing behind Liam, leaning against the wall with a smirk playing on his lips.-Hunters are back, and this time they're coming for Liam, but Theo is not about to let that happen. Not that he cared of course, he just couldn't stand watching another disaster in Beacon Hills.





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO! Okay, I've started it. It's on. Game on. And I am definitely gonna finish it, I promise. I'll add more tags as the story goes on, but there will be explicit content further ahead of the story, so I'll change the rating when we get there  
> First chapter is just to get started. Next will be more story-related, promise

”Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Scott looked at him with his big, alpa-dad-parent-eyes, arms crossed over the blood red sweatshirt he was wearing. Liam wondered if that was in fact his hoodie, since he happened to have one just like that, and it happened to be gone. Mysterious.

“Yes, Scott, I’ll be fine. I have your number, you know.”

Scott looked even more anxious by that comment. “But Liam, you know Beacon Hills. There’s always gonna be someone out to kill us, and if Monroe comes back-“

“Phone”, Liam rolled his eyes, but he felt happy knowing Scott cared enough about him to actually consider staying home and not going off to college. If Liam were to decide, he’d scooch over to make some place for Scott on the couch, and maybe super-glue him to the seat to make sure his alpha didn’t leave town. Super-glue with wolfsbane, was that a thing? If not, Liam should definitely invent it. 

“I know You’ll call. Any trouble, you’ll call.”

“Promise”, the beta nodded. “And I do have protection if I need it. Parrish seem pretty secure with his hellhound-business, and Mason, Corey and Nolan-“

“I don’t want to be rude, Liam, but –“

“You will be if you finish that sentence”, Liam half smiled, knowing exactly what his alpha were to say about his inexperienced friends. “But Mason is my Stiles, okay? Corey is learning, he’ll get there. And, you know. We do have another one.”

“Sheriff isn’t supernatural though”, Scott sighed, “but he can always help.”

“I meant Theo”, Liam said, his tone a bit hesitant, like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to say it out loud. He hadn’t told anyone about any details from their fight in the hospital, like he way his stupid heart stupidly raced through the roof when Theo took a step towards him, hair hanging down over his forehead and his blue-green eyes dropped to his lips. Or the fact Liam could hear his heart skip a beat when he said, voice almost desperate, _I’m not dying for you_. But on the other hand, so did Liam's when he said it back and that was definitely only because they were in the middle of a fight, it wasn’t weird that Liam’s heart reacted to the surroundings, nor Theo's. Anyone’s would be at that point.

“Oh”, Scott said, looking almost more worried now. He held Liam's gaze steady. Maybe it would’ve been best not to say anything, after all. “If he tries- “

“He won’t”, Liam sighed, “we’ve had this conversation like, twenty times. You know he took Gabe’s pain.”

“And what if he found some way around the you-have-to-care-to-take-pain-thing? He isn’t pure werewolf, maybe the rules are different.” Liam was thankful it wasn't Stiles he was arguing with, since Stiles was the founder and leader of the "no-trusting-Theo"-club.

“Just… just trust me, alright? And I’m pretty sure Mason would kick Theo’s ass if he tried anything with me. You know that too.”

Scott finally let his anxious face light up in a smile. “Yeah, he would. Alright, I really need to run so Stiles and Lydia don’t leave me behind, but I’ll text you. Like, every hour.”

Liam nodded, letting his arm fall out, inviting Scott into a hug. His alpha had definitely been waiting for it, considering the way he immediately threw his arms around his neck. Scott breathed in deeply and Liam rolled his eyes, knowing Scott was catching his scent.

“Dude”, Liam laughed, “you’re just moving to another state, not Russia.”

Scott smiled back against his shoulder. “I know.”

 

-

 

Liam fumbled with his fingers in his pocket, feeling the slight panic rising in him when he realized his keys weren’t there. He might be a werewolf, he might have fought all kinds of supernatural creatures, but realizing he lost his keys still got his heart racing. The knowledge his father would kick his ass if he found out was somehow more disturbing than any weird-looking creature they had fought. His parents were out of town two days, and Mason and Corey were off having some cuddly, romantic weekend in a nearby hotel.

God damnit. He breathed in deeply, holding his breath for a few seconds before letting the air out. He couldn’t start his first night as the new puppy pack “alpha” losing control over losing his keys.

Liam closed his eyes, concentrated, and let his wolf eyes look around, looking for any trace of his keys on the road behind him, as he walked home from Scott. There was absolutely nothing.

With a groan he leaned his head against the door. Or more like, head-butted door. If he didn’t have superfast healing, that would leave a bruise.

“I can hear your angry heartbeat all over Beacon hills.”

And Liam had most definitely not heard his, which was a little embarrassing. He didn't like Theo's ability to sneak up on him. No one sneaks up on a werewolf Theo noticed too when he saw the way Liam jumped at his words.

“That’s bad”, Theo said, and Liam could hear he was smirking even if he hadn’t turned around yet. “What if I was Monroe?”

Finally, Liam stretched his back and looked behind him. “What if you weren’t an asshole?”

Theo kept smirking. Both his wet hair and smell of soap gave away that he had probably just taken a shower. Liam was used to his fixed fluff on top of his head, but now, his hair laid flat. It kind of suited him, the more messy, natural look. Not that he’d every say that out loud. Ever. “Why you looking so angry for?”

“Why do you care?”

Theo crossed his arms over his chest and Liam wanted to punch the grin of his face. “I don’t. I was just asking; can't sleep with your loud, angry heartbeats.”

Liam sighed, giving up his façade. “I lost my keys”, he muttered. “Can’t get in. Parents aren’t home.”

“Alright, where did you lose them?”

Theo realized what a stupid question it was the same second Liam turned around to fully glare at him. “Do you think I’d stand here talking to you if I knew that?”

“Have you even looked?”

“No.”

“Want company?”

Liam looked suspiciously at him. Theo looked natural, calm, not like he had some evil plan in mind or like he asked just to make fun of him. “Okay”, Liam answered, “you don’t happen to have a sleep place in your car?”

Theo rolled his eyes, walking up to his side as Liam dropped down the stairs from his front door. “Forget it”, he said, and Liam shrugged. Not like he expected anything else.

They walked down the road in silence for a while. It was a cold night, coldest in a while. Liam’s dramatic side said it was definitely because Scott, Lydia and Stiles left town. Their protective energy was all gone, and Liam swore he could touch the feeling of emptiness in the air. He hoped he was imagining things, he hoped the upcoming months – no, years – was gonna be as calm as they could be. He didn’t feel like stepping up, making life changing decisions. He glanced over at Theo, wondering if the taller boy still would anchor him – wait what? – even if Scott wasn’t here with his no-killing alpha status.

“What?” Theo glanced over at him, eyes meeting his.

“What, what?” Liam said back.

“You’re staring at me”, Theo pointed out, one eyebrow raising.

Liam pouted at him. “I am not staring at you.”

He got a laugh back. Liam hated that kind of laugh. Theo had three, the genuine laugh, the sarcastic laugh and the mocking laugh. This was the third kind. The one that made Liam feel stupid even though he shouldn’t feel that way.

“Okay, what are you doing then?” Theo then asked, his voice a bit softer. His smirk was replaced by a softer smile, his lips just slightly curved. Not that Liam noticed.

“I’m just- you’re not gonna try anything, are you?”

“Try anything?” The annoying smirk was back. Liam regretted asking.

“Yeah, like, you’re not gonna try anything just because Scott is gone?”

Theo stopped, and Liam had to do the fastest 180 turn he could just to keep his eyes locked with Theo. He found it easier to read the taller boy if he could see his eyes. He knew Theo had no problem lying or pretending, but spending so much time together, Liam knew his eyes couldn’t lie. Not to him, at least.

“Scott’s not gone, Liam”, Theo said, sighing, “let’s say I did try anything – not that I will, but if I did – Scott would be on the next plane back, and I’d be dead. I’ve told you before, Liam, I’m not dying because of you.”

“You said you weren’t dying for me. That’s a different thing.”

Theo groaned loudly. Liam smiled at the sound. “Maybe, but the outcome is the same. I’m not dying, especially not with your involvement.”

“I’d be offended, but somehow that’s a little reassuring.”

“Idiot”, Theo just answered. “But seriously, Liam. He’s not gone, he’s just out of town. You’re not alone, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Theo looked away from him, staring up at the star-filled sky, his voice clear, like he was actually just talking about the weather, but instead he said, “I’m here, you know. Letting you die won’t benefit me.”

Liam couldn’t help the smile spreading on his lips. “It’s like you’re trying so hard not to be nice, even when you are”, he said, and he could see the tender expression on his face.

“Take it or leave it, baby wolf.”

“I’m not- wait.” Liam stared at him, concentrating his hearing. He could swear he heard… yep. Definitely heard. As the realization grew on his face, Theo’s smile grew bigger and bigger.

“You asshole!” Liam yelled, and Theo started laughing, taking out his hand of his pocket, Liam’s keys dangling from his hand. “Give me those, you ass!”


	2. A new threat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new threat appears.
> 
> Longer chapters will start tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok I needed to add the chapter now so you could actually get a hold of what the story might be like, and not just a beginning with no meaning. I have a few chapters finished so im planning on updating once a day or every other day, since im on vacation for 3 more weeks and have all the time in the world.

Liam spread the map across the table, glancing up at Mason, Corey, Nolan and Malia in front of him. How did Scott usually do this? He pointed at the marked spot in the right corner.

“Alright”, he said hesitantly, “here’s where the hunters were last seen, by Melissa and Chris when they were out… on a date?” He looked up to see if anyone else found it as weird as he did. They didn’t. “Anyways, and Melissa said they were setting up camp in one of the caves in the outskirts of Beacon Hills, and Chris said that he saw… he saw…” Liam took a deep breath. “A picture of me with a knife in my head”, he rushed out, not really wanting to take in the meaning behind that.

“Very scary.”

“Who let him in, again?” Malia asked, glaring back at Theo, who was standing behind Liam, leaning against the wall with a smirk playing on his lips.

“I did”, Liam sighed, “look, we need his help.”

“No we don’t”, she argued back. “Look, I’m only here for a few more days, so we need to take out these people before I’ll leave, or Scott’s gonna have my ass. So, puppy alpha, what do you suggest?”

The look she gave him suggested she thought he was gonna give over the leader-title to her. Liam was not. He was going to fix this.

“Theo and I are going to check it out”, he said, pointing at the marked cave on the map. “Just have a look, so we know exactly what we’re dealing with, what weaponry and how many. Melissa and Argent didn’t have time to look, and considering Melissa, um, apparently had high heels and a dress, Argent didn’t want to put her in unnecessary danger where she can’t run. So we don’t know a lot.

Malia and Nolan, try and see if you can find any trace of other hunter parties in town, and Mason and Corey, go talk to Argent and Melissa and see if there’s any details they left out.”

Okay, that wasn’t too hard. He got this. It was a solid start, maybe they could actually pull this through without asking for help. He hadn’t asked Scott for help, or even filled him in on the situation yet. He begged Melissa to keep quiet for a while so he could think this through, and she had to his surprise agreed.

Melissa and Argent came by just after Theo left him the night before, and by the worried look on her face, Liam had known immediately that it wasn’t good. He was happy they couldn’t hear his heartbeat when Argent told them there was a picture of him with a knife through his head. If they had, they’ve heard how absolutely terrified he had gotten. It felt weird doing this, and having a situation like this, without Scott in charge.

“Why are you going with Theo?” Mason asked, a bit suspicious as he eyed the Chimera behind him.

“Because I don’t trust any of you with Theo”, he said easily.

“You mean you don’t trust Theo with any of us?” Malia said, raising her eyebrows at him.

“That’s what I said”, Liam insisted, waving it away but not missing the look the werecoyote gave him, nor Theo’s eyes in the back of his head. He didn’t turn around to look at him. “Are we good? Everyone knows what they’re doing?”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to keep Scott in the dark?”

“No, but I just want to know what we’re up against before I call him, alright? Malia, can you promise me you won’t tell him?”

She rolled her eyes. “Only because he told me to be nice to you.”

Liam nodded, turning around to see Theo looking at him, eyes unreadable. “You good to go?” Liam asked him, and a smirk formed on the chimera’s lips.

“Definitely, baby alpha.”

Liam did definitely, absolutely, 100 % not blush. Not even a little bit. And by the way the smirk on Theo’s lips grew wider was definitely, absolutely, 100 % because of something else.

“Great, asshole. Get out, I’ll see you in the car.”

He thought Theo was going to protest or just not care at all that he basically ordered him to do something, but he just nodded and left the room. Liam was biting on the inside of his lip hard enough to draw blood.

“You can’t trust him”, Mason mumbled, “you know that, right?”

“I know”, Liam said, not meeting his eyes. “Let’s just do this, alright? Text me if you find anything interesting.”

He didn’t want to take the conversation further, partly because he knew Theo was most likely still listening, and partly because he knew he couldn’t lie to Malia. Instead, he nodded to tell himself it was the right moment to leave and gave the rest of his pack a hard smile before following Theo out.

He was, to Liam’s surprise, actually waiting in the car as he got out. He had both hands on the wheel, ready to drive when Liam jumped in. He took a deep breath to calm himself and felt the scent of Theo filling his lungs. A part of him was kind of disturbed that it actually did calm him down, the scent of apple shower cream and the forest just after the first raindrops fall on the ground.

“They still don’t trust me, even though I saved your life like ten times?”

“Not ten”, Liam muttered, “and no, they don’t. Can’t blame them.”

“Do you trust me?” Theo asked, glancing at him through the rear-view mirror.

Liam hesitated for a second. “Should I?” he answered after a few seconds of silence. Theo started the car, pulling out from the driveway outside Liam’s house.

“Good question”, he replied as he drove out on the road in front of them.

For being a Sunday, it was very empty on the streets of Beacon Hills. Liam had notices a drastic change after Monroe and Gerard had affected the entire city. Not as many youths spent their late nights outside, especially not in the forest or any other place they could be in, what Monroe had told them, danger. He and the pack got a few requests of young people wanting them to turn them, to join the pack, and some ran the other way when they saw them.

But most, didn’t believe. Most had no proof and wasn’t interested in getting any either. They hadn’t heard from Monroe or any hunter in over a month, but it seemed like the quiet time they have had was about to end. He trusted Argent and Melissa, but he was hoping they were wrong with what the saw in the cave. Argent had said there was about ten people, Melissa said four. Argent had said he didn’t see many weapons, Melissa said she saw a dozen at least.

The rest of the car ride was quiet, with the exception of Theo swearing at a passing car for almost hitting his side mirror, glowing his eyes at them just to watch them speed away way faster than allowed. A few hundred meters ahead they passed the car again, stopped by deputy Parrish. It was a genuine laugh coming from the older boy, and Liam found himself smiling brightly at the sound. It wasn’t often Theo showed genuine feelings or happiness, so when he did, it was something Liam wanted to hold onto. He knew none of the pack liked or trusted Theo, but they hadn’t spent the time with him as he had. They hadn’t been dragged in to the elevator, left in the elevator – what was it with elevators? – nor pushed to the floor by Theo with the intention of saving his life. They probably hadn’t even had a proper conversation with him.

Liam knew Stiles wanted to say something to him about the whole Theo situation before he left, but they had no time alone. Instead, he had just stared at him, eyes serious and big, before they drove off, leaving Liam and Malia standing in silence until they car were way out of hearing distance.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

 

_From: Scott McCall_

_Hey dude! How is everyone?_

Liam looked down at the screen, fingers hovering over the letters.

 

_To: Scott McCall_

_All good! A bit quiet, but I think that’s good._

_From: Scott McCall_

_Cool! Stiles says to stay away from stranger danger (I think that’s Theo he means). How’s Malia?_

_To: Scott McCall_

_Haha, tell him to shut it. You should ask her yourself._

_From: Scott McCall_

_I should. Call me if anything comes up!_

_To: Scott McCall_

_Will do._

“You tell him yet?” Theo asked him without taking his eyes off the road.

“No, do you think I should?” Liam glanced over at him. The light from the setting sun was reflecting on his skin, making the younger werewolf think of the sparkling vampires from Twilight.

“No”, Theo said, which wasn’t a very surprising answer. “I think you got this yourself.”

Liam nodded, thankful at least someone believed he could do it himself. “Yeah, maybe. Depends on what we find.”

Theo said nothing as he pulled in where the dirt road ended. It wasn’t too dark yet, but looking in to the forest Liam felt his heart racing. Theo heard it too, eyeing him from the driver seat.

“We’re gonna be fine”, Theo almost whispered, his tone soft. Liam swallowed.

“Yeah”, he whispered back, unbuckling his belt. “Let’s go.”

The chimera followed him out of the car, and they walked in silence towards the cliffs and caves north ahead of them. It wasn’t a very long walk, but it felt like miles as they wandered through the woods. The trees were singing around them, branches swaying, dropping leaves at their feet. Liam had been through here a couple of times before but it still felt like a completely new area, and his senses were as heightened as he could get them without shifting. He took a peak at Theo. His eyes were shining yellow and Liam felt calmer knowing he wasn’t gonna let anything or anyone close either. He knew Theo was just protecting himself, but it was still reassuring.

Theo and Liam stopped at the same step as the sound of someone dropping something heavy was heard not too far ahead.

_“You need help with that?”_

They looked at each other, both clearly hearing the woman’s voice in front of them. A huffed answer came, this time from a man. Theo moved forward, ducking a little bit in the bushes leading up to the caves. It was going to be hard to stay hidden. Liam followed him.

They crept forward in silence, following the two voices until they got to an opening next to one of the caves just where the forest ended in a cliff. A fall from there would probably even kill a werewolf.

Outside, there was a lot of packaging. Suitcases, weekend bags, weapon bags. Liam could count to at least five of each. He could smell smoke and he suspected it was coming from inside the cave. Smart, considering they probably didn’t want to be seen. There was four guys standing outside talking to two women. All six of them were carrying shotguns, either on their backs on in their hands. One of the women, the blonde one, was carrying a black box in her arms, probably what they had dropped earlier.

Liam looked over at Theo, who nodded, eyeing over to four bigger rocks, closer to the cave. Liam nodded back and followed him.

“You know we can’t just blow up the town, right?” the blonde woman snorted at the men in front of her. “There are humans here.”

“So how do we get all of them out?”

“We’re not!” The brunette now joined the conversation, crossing her hands over her chest, looking very annoyed. “All of you have to step the fuck down, we can’t afford being seen now!”

“Who the fuck comes out here anyways? We have license for the weapons too. Hunting trip, alright?”

The brunette glared angrily at the tallest man. “You’re an ass, you know that right? If you get us caught, you fix the mess.”

He laughed, a dark and terrifying sound that sent shivers down Liam’s spine. “It’s just a beta, Amelia.” Liam could practically hear him roll his eyes.

He felt Theo’s eyes in his side, they both knew he was most likely talking about him.

“Yeah, but Scott McCall’s beta”, she remembered him and that settled any doubtfulness. “We will only get one chance, as soon as McCall knows we’re here it’s going to get a lot more difficult.”

“If we do what we came here to do, McCall doesn’t ever matter!” the man argued, pointing at the box in her hand. “And can you not go around carrying that out in the open?”

The blonde woman handed the box over to one of the other men who left without a word towards the entrance of the cave.

“We need to know what that is”, Theo whispered to him.

“Wolfsbane?” Liam guessed and Theo shrugged. Like he would know. 

Both the women down below were now crossing their arms at their male companions, clearly taking distance from their behavior. “I know. And the others, what do we do about the others?”

“They’ll stick together.”

“Not Theo Raeken.”

Liam could feel Theo freeze next to him, and his own heart started to race slightly.

“Raeken isn’t a problem”, the brunette insisted, “he’s not pack. He won’t be there.”

Theo raised his brows, heartbeat steady as he listened carefully to what the hunters below were saying.

“How do you know? I’ve heard the rumors of him and Dunbar fighting together.” The blonde was now questioning the brunette, which she didn’t seem to like.

“Raeken only cares about himself, he does what he has to stay alive. He won’t put himself in our way. He won’t protect them.”

Liam expected Theo to at least react, but he just sat there with his stupidly steady heartbeat and blank expression on his face. Liam tried to get eye contact, but the older chimera was not meeting his eyes, not willing to let him in to what he was thinking.

“Okay”, the blonde said. “You’re probably right.”

“I am right”, Amelia, the brunette, almost growled at her. “We do what we came to do, okay? We ruin this fucking pack.”

The man she had spoken to before letting out the same, chilling laugh. “Yeah. We put five bullets in Liam Dunbar’s head." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!! as said before, you can reach me on tumblr @thrashton, or leave a comment or input below!
> 
> SEE U SOON


	3. Protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My angry boys do what they do best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit longer. Not proof-read.  
> I'M SO EXCITED for the next chapter (4) I'm really proud of it, I hope you stick around to read it!

Theo was stomping away from the cave so loudly Liam was afraid they were going to hear him. He was glad he wasn’t the only one reacting badly to what the hunters had said, his heart practically stopping as the hunters laughed at the thought of Liam dying on the ground, black blood dripping from the holes in his head. He shivered at the picture in his head. What a terrible way to die.

“Theo, slow down!” Liam growled at him, reaching out to grab his arm.

As he wrapped his fingers around Theo’s hot wrist the chimera turned around, eyes yellow and teeth gritted at him, a low growl coming from his chest. Liam froze.

It took a few seconds before Theo looked away, taking a loud, deep breath and looked back at the younger werewolf, face blank. “What?”

“What- I- “, Liam didn’t know what to say. “How many heartbeats did you hear?” he decided to ask, instead of asking the question hanging in the air; _why are you reacting like this?_

“How many heartbeats?” Theo sounded like he was going to laugh at the question, but at he met the werewolf’s desperate eyes he clenched his jaw together and sighed. “Maybe 12”, he said.

“Me too”, Liam said. “The odd one, did you hear it too? The one beating super-fast?”

Theo nodded. “Yeah. Maybe a hostage?”

Liam nodded slowly, trying to keep eye contact. It was hard, Theo seemed stressed. His eyes traveled everywhere but at Liam, and he kept twitching like he heard something Liam didn’t. “Are… are you okay?” he asked carefully and Theo’s eyes finally snapped back at him.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”, he answered, voice steady now.

Liam wasn’t sure what to answer to that, so he just shrugged, leaving Theo behind to walk the last bit to the car.

It was the first time the threat was actually right over him, the first time his head was the prize. He was used to Scott being the one in constant danger, but now he was the center of it all. He’d thought about it before, that it would be a little cool to be the one getting the kind of dangerous attention, but now that it happened he wished he could take those thoughts back.

After the thrilling comment about shooting Liam in the head, the hunters had agreed over some dinner plans, and entered the cave. The two supernaturals had gotten a little closer but didn’t overhear anything more interesting.

Liam opened the passenger door and jumped in the car. Theo wasn’t many steps behind. He started the car without a word, leaving the forest behind them way faster than he was allowed to.

“You need to tell Scott”, Theo said after a while and Liam could hear how he forced himself to utter the words.

“What?” he replied, even though he heard exactly what the chimera said.

“You need to tell Scott, okay? He needs to be here to protect you.”

“I don’t need someone to babysit me!” Liam shot back, “and since when do you care? I’m not telling Scott, and neither are you, or anyone else in the pack.”

Theo scowled and laughed shortly, a harsh tone. “I’m not your pack, Dunbar. You don’t tell me what to do.”

Liam shook his head frantically. “I’m not trying to! But if you care about me somewhere in your cold soul, you won’t tell Scott either!”

Theo looked like he wanted to punch him. Liam probably had the same look on his face.

“Fine”, he spat at last. “But I’ve said it before, I’m not dying for you. If you want to do this on your own, that’s on you. Don’t blame me for not being there.”

Liam could feel something clench inside of him, but he bit together. “Fine”, he spat back. “Didn’t expect anything else.”

“Of course you didn’t”, Theo ended the conversation sharply, fingers gripping so tightly around the steering wheel it would leave marks.

The rest of the ride was in angry silence. Liam tried to calm himself, but all he could see in his head was the picture of himself dead on the ground. He couldn’t call Scott, not now. Scott needed to have a future, his future couldn’t be babysitting Liam for the rest of his life. He could care for himself and his pack and he was going to show it, not only to Scott but to Theo. He knew the chimera didn’t actually believe he could do this, and that’s why he wanted to shove it in his face that _fuck you, I’m not useless._

He didn’t need Theo to save him anyways. He had his pack, that was enough. Thinking of it, he got his phone out of his pocket.

_To: Mason_

_You guys find anything?_

_From: Mason_

_Not really, sorry dude. Argent thinks they were sent by Monroe, he’s working on her whereabouts and more information about the weaponry. Melissa didn’t know anything else._

_To: Mason_

_Okay. Update me if there’s news_

_From: Mason_

_You then? Is it bad?_

Liam stared at his screen, considered lying for a second but realized there was no point. Mason read him like a book and would find out the second they came face to face, if not over text.

_To: Mason_

_Yeah. First one to put five bullets in my head wins, basically._

_From: Mason_

_What the fuck? Seriously? Have you called Scott yet?_

_To: Mason_

_NO! Dude, please don’t tell him yet. I need more information before getting him to fail college and babysit me._

_From: Mason_

_You know he wants to know._

_But fine I trust you._

_Is Theo with you? Or did you come to your senses and kicked his chimera ass out?_

_To: Mason_

_Funny. He’s still here. He reacted weird when we left. The hunter lady said some things about him, think it got to him._

_From: Mason_

_Don’t trust him._

_To: Mason_

_No, not like that. I think he got angry._

_From: Mason_

_Alright dude, but be careful. You need anyone to stay with you tonight?_

Liam knew Mason and Corey had their second night at the nearby hotel tonight.

 

_To: Mason_

_No, I’m good. I’ll call you if there’s any sign of hunters, promise._

_From: Mason_

_Yeah, you actually call me. Don’t pull a Scott on me._

_To: Mason_

_Promise. Heard anything from Malia?_

_From: Mason_

_Yeah, Nolan said there weren’t any signs of any other hunter parties._

_Nolan confronted some of Monroe’s friends still in town and Malia didn’t hear any change in heartbeats. I think it’s only them. She was gonna check with Peter and Derek though._

_To: Mason_

_At least some good news. Thanks man, I’ll text you tomorrow._

_From: Mason_

_Or if something happens or if you smell or hear a car that sounds weird._

_To: Mason_

_Ha. Promise._

_From: Mason_

_Love you dude_

_To: Mason_

_Think that was for Corey ;)_

_From: Mason_

_It wasn’t._

_To: Mason_

_I know, you too dude._

Liam finally dared to glance over at the chimera. Theo’s face didn’t have any trace left of the loss of control he showed before. It was blank, no emotion, and his hands weren’t gripping the wheel as tight anymore. In fact, one hand was resting in his lap as he pulled up next to Liam’s house. There was still no one home and Liam sighed looking up at the dark windows. He wasn’t scared – okay, maybe a little scared. Worried, that they would try something. He knew they had to go back, get more information on what exactly the hunters were planning, more than putting a few bullets in his head. He put a mental note in his head to gather the pack tomorrow and see if anyone else had a follow-up plan. Even Scott didn’t decide everything, it was still a pack decision, and Liam wasn’t really alpha. Only a alpha-in-training. Baby alpha, as Theo so mockingly put it.

Theo stopped the car, biting the inside of his lip. Liam followed the movement, not sure if he was supposed to say good bye or not. He decided on the latter and got out of the car.

He only got a step or two before he heard the door for the driving seat slam close, and footsteps came up behind him. Theo didn’t say anything, so Liam had to.

“What are you doing?”, he said, annoyed at the quiet chimera.

“What do you think I’m doing?” Theo rolled his eyes, holding his hand out. For a moment, Liam was about to grab it before he realized that would be very fucking embarrassing since Theo was obviously wanting the keys in his hand. Liam didn’t know why he gave them to him.

“Following me to the door like I’m your first date?”

He scuffed out a laugh. “You actually think I’m gonna leave you alone?”

Theo’s face looked so punchable right in that second. “I’m not a fucking baby, Theo!” he growled between gritted teeth.

“I didn’t say so”, Theo spat back, “so you telling me you can take out 12 surprise attackers? Don’t be an idiot, Dunbar.”

“So what, you’re gonna babysit me?”

“What is with you and babysitting?” Theo threw out his arms, shaking his head before unlocking Liam’s front door. “I’m not babysitting you, I’m keeping you alive.”

“Since when?” Liam asked him, tone dripping with sarcasm.

“Since Scott would find Kira, get the sword back together and send me down with my dead, dearest sister if anything happened to you”, he said, not meeting Liam’s eyes.

Liam felt the anger raise in him again. He didn’t try to stop the feeling. “So, babysitting”, he laughed loudly. “Great.”

“Admitting you can’t take on 12 hunters isn’t being a baby”, Theo said calmly, “it’s being smart.”

“I have a pack to help me”, Liam snapped, regretting the words the second they left his lips.

A flash of… something, ran over his face for just a fraction of a section before Theo gave him a cold smile. “Great for you. Have fun on your own then, Dunbar.”

Theo smacked the door closed in his face, leaving Liam standing in the hallway alone in the dark. He sighed, burying his face in his hands before swallowing his pride. It wasn’t fair, he knew Theo would never admit to helping him, or try to keep him safe, but this was a close as they would probably ever get.

Liam opened the door after him.

“Theo”, he said, “wait.”

Theo stopped, just before entering his car. “What?”

 _Swallow you pride, Dunbar. Don’t be a fucking idiot. The help is right in front of you, take it._ He considered it for a short second before finally giving in to his thoughts. “I’m sorry”, he sighed, “I didn’t mean that.”

Theo’s smile was still cold. “Sure. Good night.”

“I’d- uh.” Liam bit his cheek. “I’d appreciate the help keeping me alive. I mean, if you want to, you don’t have to- my couch isn’t very comfortable for sleeping, and there’s not much food in the fridge but I make really good tea and- “

The grin spreading on Theo’s face was honest, genuine, and Liam realized he was rambling. “Alright, baby alpha”, Theo smirked, “but I want the warmest blanket you got.”

Liam ignored the comment, letting Theo pass him through the door. He had been there once before, once when Liam managed to convince him he could stay over instead of sleeping in his car. Theo’s bags had been so big he was amazed the chimera managed to awake. That weakened state was probably the reason he said yes.

Liam actually made tea, not only because he knew Theo loved it, but also because he needed something calming. Last time Theo was in his house, he had slept in the couch in the living room, but this time he followed him up the stairs to his room.

Liam had a couch in there too, not big enough for Theo, but he guessed the chimera wasn’t very picky considering he lived in his car.

“I, uh. I have a spare toothbrush?” Liam said, but it sounded more like a question.

“It’s only 9pm, Liam.”

He let out a nervous breath. Why was he this nervous? “Oh, okay.”

Theo sank down in the couch, feet up on the table. He grabbed the TV-remote and flipped on the TV. “You got any movies?”

Liam sat down next to him, as far away as he could. That was probably for the best, he didn’t want to risk the chimera running out on him again. “Uh, yeah. Avengers?”

“A-what?”

Liam stared at him. “Seriously, dude?”

“Seriously what? Did the dread doctors look like people who would give their genetic experiment a TV?”

Liam kept staring, until settling on a short, “no. So we’re starting with Captain America.”

“Intriguing”, Theo rolled his eyes, “but sure. Bring it.”

Turned out, Liam had hit jackpot. Theo didn’t seem like he was very interested in the beginning, but soon enough Liam started to hear the small gasps every time something new, unexpected (or, expected for trained superhero movie-eyes) happened. He was leaning on his elbows, brows furrowed in a worried expression as they entered the last, big fight. Liam wasn’t even sure he noticed as he left the room to make some popcorn, but when he came back, Theo grabbed the bowl from his hands without even looking at him.

He found it more interesting to watch the chimera than the movie, Liam realized. He had never really thought about Theo having interests before, other than himself, but sitting there, watching the older boy watching the Marvel Universe for the first time, he realized he had probably never experienced a normal youth. He had probably never gone to the movies, seen a live theater, gotten drunk by a bonfire, having his first kiss in the rain, seeing the people he cared and loved about growing up and developing, failing a test he really studied hard for or passing a test he didn’t even know they had.

Watching Theo making a snarky comment about how there’s no way Bucky could actually survive that fall, and Liam reminded him there was no way people riding horses could make everyone forget someone’s existence, but Theo waved him away, saying that was a completely different thing. Liam didn’t argue with that, he only smirked.

When the movie ended, he felt unnaturally warm. It was a long, long time had actually had a fun time, feeling safe and protected. Sure, Mason was his best friend and their gaming nights were the highlights of Liam’s week, but this was something completely different. Having Theo concentrating so hard on the movie in front of him, like he had never seen a movie before, but snapping out of it as soon as he heard a car drive by outside only to decide it wasn’t a threat and go back to the movie – that was something Liam had never had before. With Mason, he had to be the eyes and ears.

Theo seemed relaxed as well, and Liam hoped it wasn’t only a façade. He hoped the chimera felt safe and relaxed too for once in his life. He had heard from the deputies about the times he had got chased away from numerous alleys and parking lots he had decided to sleep in.

Considering not too long ago, Theo had manipulated him into almost killing his alpha, he was surprised by seeing himself feeling… safe in his company. He knew the others would never understand if he told them, even if he explained the times Theo had saved his life, the times Theo had thrown him out of the way of danger, or the panic that filled his chest as Theo pushed him in the elevator, and with a smirk on his face telling him _I’m being the bait_ , only to keep him from getting taken from the ghost riders.

Theo wasn’t a bad person. Not anymore, at least. Liam didn’t know what had happened to Theo specifically when he was down in literal hell with his sister, but he knew it changed him, he knew it made him to the person sitting next to him in the couch. He had to remind himself sometimes, that it was also the same person who let his sister die and stole her heart, that the heart beating inside of him wasn’t actually _his._ He wanted to feel scared, horrified, terrified every time he thought about it (which was a little bit too often, actually), but all he could see was the manipulated, young kid doing what he was told to do. The little kid who was raised to be bad.

“Was that all?” Theo said, leaning back in the couch as the end credits started to run on the screen.

His words brought Liam back to reality. “There’s post credit scenes too”, he said, grabbing the remote out of Theo’s hand. His skin slightly brushed against his, and to Liam’s surprised he felt as hot as he did.

Liam fast forwarded the credits, leaning back as the scene started to roll. They watched it in silence and as soon as it was over, Theo stretched his arms over his head, yawning loudly.

“Maybe we should call it an early night”, he suggested.

“Yeah”, Liam agreed. He felt like hadn’t slept in a week.

“Can’t take another two hours of you staring at me, anyways”, Theo smirked, winking at him as Liam snapped his head to look at him. He thanked all available gods that it was too dark to see the slight blush creeping up his face.

“Whatever, asshole. I’m willing to kick you out again.”

“Only to beg for me to come back? I got to say, Dunbar, would’ve been more dramatic if you were on your knees.”

Liam glared at him through the dark. “I’ll lock you in the bathroom.”

“I’ll break down the door.”

“I’ll put a defenseless child in front of the door so if you break it you’ll break the child.”

Theo’s brows almost left his head. “I’ll report you with kidnapping.”

“Not if it was willingly.”

The chimera huffed out a laugh. “Okay, if that happens I’ll stay in the bathroom.”

“Good.”

As soon as teeth were brushed and blankets traded, Liam finally got to sink down into the mattress with a satisfied sigh. He needed this sleep. He heard Theo doing the same, turning around in the small couch a few times before finding a position that seemed to work for him.

Liam bit his lips to stop a question from filling the silence, but it had been on the tip of his tongue ever since they were sitting in the forest listening to the hunters talking about them. He sighed, turning to his left so he could look down at Theo. Theo was looking at him too.

“Are you trying to prove her wrong?” Liam asked before he could change his mind.

Theo didn’t break their eye contact and studied Liam’s face for a while. He couldn’t really make out what the expression on the chimera’s face meant.

“What do you mean?” he replied at last, voice soft in the dark silence.

Liam guessed he already knew what he meant, but he answered anyway. “What she said. That you’re not a problem, that you only care about yourself, won’t protect us.”

Theo sighed, turning his gaze up to the ceiling. He was quiet long enough to make Liam think he wouldn’t get an answer. Just before his body gave up and fell asleep, he heard the small inhale before Theo spoke.

“Yeah”, he said, so quiet he had to concentrate to hear his words, “I guess I am.”

“Thank you”, he whispered back, hoping the chimera didn’t hear his heart skip a beat.

“But don’t think I’d die for you, baby alpha.”

A smile was playing on his lips. “I would never. Good night, Theo”

“Night, idiot.”


	4. Mexico? Mexico.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo comes up with the worst idea ever and Liam just goes with it, because why the fuck not?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs used in this chapter:  
> Faith - Grafx ft. Cody Christian (aka the actor who plays Theo on Teen Wolf).

Liam expected Theo to be gone in the morning. It was the first thought running through his mind as well since he didn’t see the chimera on the couch when he woke up.

He stretched out and yawning loudly. It was already 10:02am according to the clock on his nightstand. God, he’d slept way too long considering the threat that was over his head. Sighing, he leaned his head back on the pillow again and picked up on the heartbeat downstairs.

He was just about to panic before he recognized the steady sound as Theo’s. He was still here. Liam got up in a sitting position, reaching for his t-shirt he had thrown to the side and pulled it over his head.

When tossing down the stairs, he found Theo whistling in the kitchen with a cheese and ham sandwich in his right hand. He was holding Liam’s phone in the other.

“Good morning”, Theo said without looking up, “Mason has a very ugly mouth.”

Liam snatched the phone from him with an angry grunt. “You’re an asshole”, he mumbled, running his hand through his soft morning hair, trying to get it to stick in place. Good thing was Theo looked just as messy as he did, his hair standing in all kinds of direction. It was a good look on him, in all honesty.

He caught himself staring a little too long and let his gaze fall to the screen in his hand instead, where Mason had sent a very long list of insults after realizing he was talking to Theo and not Liam. “Use your own phone”, the werewolf rolled his eyes. He was too tired to get upset for real.

“Since you decided it was a good day to sleep in, someone had to take charge.”

“And that someone shouldn’t be you.”

Theo shrugged. “Maybe not, but I did. Argent found some news.”

Liam glared at him. “You texted _Argent?_ ”

“No, I texted Mason who texted Argent.”

Theo had put down the sandwich on a place in front of him on the table so Liam reached out and grabbed it, taking a bite. He expected Theo to say something but he was just met by raised eyebrows and the annoyingly attractive grin. Wait, what?

“Okay, what’s the news?”

Theo took the sandwich back from Liam’s hands. “He managed to get his hands on one of the guns left by one of the hunter’s cars. Traced it back to Mexico. I’ve only heard it as rumors, but I’m pretty sure there’s a hunter family there, like the Argents, who distributed the weapons to our hunters. Argent thought so as well, saying there’s no other explanation as why they would have this many handmade bullets.”

“You mean the Calaveras?” Liam raised is brows, surely Theo knew about the hunter family, but it made no sense for them to be sending people out to kill them.

“No, I’m not an idiot. The Pereira’s apparently, they don’t have anything to do with the Calaveras.”

“Okay… but are we sure? Couldn’t be just normal weapons smuggled across borders? You know like… gangsters exist, right?”

Theo rolled his eyes, “obviously, dumbass. Bullets had markings on it, and Argent said it belonged to the Pereira’s. His guess is that Monroe has reached out to other hunter families across the world, and that she’s getting help gathering weapons and ammunition.”

Liam nodded slowly. He didn’t want to know much more since he knew this was soon going to be out of his hands and he would need Scott’s help. “Okay, I don’t really see how that will help us.”

Theo smirked. “That’s where you’re wrong. He reached out to them requesting to meet up, and one of them is coming over to Beacon Hills.”

Liam glared at him. “Still not seeing how this will help us.”

“Information, dumbass. Are you trying to get yourself killed? He’s gonna find out who wants you dead.” Theo inspected the look in Liam’s face, brows furrowing. “You don’t look too happy about it?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m just… you know. Is it a good idea to bring more hunters to Beacon Hills?”

Theo shrugged, munching the last piece of the sandwich. “Don’t know, don’t ask me. I’d think you trust Argent.”

“Do you?” Liam mumbled, leaning back in the chair he had sat down in.

“Obviously not”, Theo almost laughed, “but I don’t trust anyone.”

Right. Obviously _not._

He didn’t have much more to say and Liam knew Theo wasn’t the one to small talk, so he didn’t try asking how he slept or how he was doing today. He wasn’t really sure what to do, what step to take next. They needed some sort of plan, but what were they supposed to do? It was so much easier when the threat was non-human, when the only solution that popped up in his head wasn’t to kill them but to throw some mountain ash on it and it dissolved into dust. Why didn’t humans work like that?

Liam let his mind run free as Theo inspected the fridge after anything else to eat. What else was there to do, really? Steal their weapons? They’d get new ones. Scare them away? They’d come back. The hunters knew neither he or the other supernaturals would survive five shots in the head, probably not even one. He didn’t want to ask Theo either because the answer would be to kill them. Talk to them? That’s what Scott would do, at least. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding, maybe they got the wrong Liam.

Or maybe not. He knew they needed more information, more to go on, if they were to stand any chance here. Liam knew he was an idiot for not calling Scott but he didn’t want the alpha to actually quit his life just to protect him; he might not be an experienced leader but he was not helpless.

Theo put the glass of juice he had gotten from the fridge down hard enough to almost break it. Liam snapped back from his thoughts and was just about to snap at him to be careful when Theo spoke first.

“Cut it, Dunbar. You look like a scared puppy. I’m not having it.”

“What’s your point?”, he barked back.

“My point is, do you see any hunters with guns?” Liam shook his head. “Exactly, so stop looking like you’re on your deathbed, it’s starting to get on my nerves.”

“Knowing someone is going to kill me is starting to get on mine”, he argued back.

“Boohoo, are we going to call mum and dad to get an actual babysitter or are you going to do anything about it?”

“We know absolutely nothing about them!”

Theo sound Theo made was a mix between an annoyed groan and a deep sigh. “Fine. Do you have any plans this week?”

Liam shook his head as a reply. Not anything else than keeping himself and his pack alive. “Don’t think so, why?”

Theo didn’t answer right away, just took the now empty glass and put it in the dishwasher and walked over to the hallway with Liam’s eyes in his neck and a curved smile on his lips, a smile Liam knew wasn’t good.

“Good”, he said, taking Liam’s jacket, throwing it his direction. Liam caught it with one hand, sending the chimera a questioning look. “We’re going to Mexico.”

 

-

 

Liam held the phone as far away as he could from his ear as Mason was screaming at him from the other line. Next to him in the car, Theo was laughing so much Liam thought he saw tears forming in his blue-green eyes. It was genuine, loud and Liam never wanted it to stop.

When Theo suggested they should try to find this hunter family, or what was left of them in Mexico, Liam surprised both of them by saying yes. He knew he couldn’t just leave without a word but waited until they were at least an hour outside Beacon Hills before he called Mason only so he couldn’t change his mind. It took only a few signals for him to pick up, it was very safe to say he was absolutely not happy with their decision. Not even a little bit, not even slightly. You had to search your entire life for any kind of happiness Mason was feeling in that moment.

“Turn around the car – Theo! I know you can hear me! If you want to keep your pretty head on your pretty shoulders, turn around!”

Theo just laughed louder, pressing on the gas.

“Mason, look-“Liam tried, but it was for nothing.

“Nope, no, none. Not having it. Turn around. Liam, if you don’t turn around I swear to god I will make your life a living hell.”

Mason sounded like he was running in the background. Liam pictured seeing him in the side mirror, running after their car with knives in both hands. “Mason, it’s just-“

“I don’t care if you were going to say _just Mexico_ or _just Theo_ but honestly I don’t care. You’re not doing this pack-free.”

“He’s gonna be all fine”, Theo said, voice filled with a type of light, silvery tone. “Don’t worry, Mason. We’ll call you later.”

“If you hang up I swear to god-“

Theo hang up the phone. He was still grinning, white teeth showing and his eyes glimmering in the sun. Liam watched him, feeling his own lips curve upwards. There was something with Theo relaxing that made him feel happier than he had felt in a long while. When Theo turned to meet his gaze, his smirk growing even bigger, Liam could swear his heart was going to jump out of his chest.

Theo put on the radio, running one hand through his hair before letting out a satisfied sigh. Liam couldn’t take his eyes of him, his lips humming along to the generic pop song playing on the radio.

He looked truly beautiful. Stunning. Liam had no idea why that thought even went through his mind, but it did and for some reason it didn’t scare him. He thought back to what he had considered the other day, that Theo probably had never experienced life the way he had, he had probably never been on a roadtrip before, probably never driven like this, on an empty road, loud music ringing in their ears, windows down and air flowing through his hair.

And a friend by his side.

He had probably never actually been happy. That thought almost scared him, he didn’t want to think about the life Theo must have had from age nine to now, in the hands of three crazy scientists.

“What are we thinking, Dunbar?” Theo sighed, “a few sightseeing stops on the way?”

Liam snorted at him, “No, we’re trying to stop people from dying.”

He pursed his lips. “Right, I forgot how boring you are.”

“There will be plenty of time for roadtrips when we’re actually not, you know, under a threat?”

Theo was smirking again. “Bet your ass on it, Dunbar. I want to see the Grand Canyon.” He glanced over at the werewolf, “and I want to visit a zoo.”

Liam laughed at him. “You’re only saying that because you know we’re gonna pass through San Diego. Theo, I’m serious, I’d love to throw you in a tiger pit, but I literally have a bounty on my head.”

“And I’d love to see you try”, Theo grinned, “come on, only a few hours. It’ll be fun. Hunters are after you and you’re not there.”

“Nothing is gonna stop them from going after the others”, he pointed out.

“What others? There’s only Malia and Corey that’s supernatural and Corey can literally go invisible and Malia can handle herself. And let’s say times get rough, Corey can literally grab her hand and run away with her, again; invisible. We can afford half a day.”

Liam rolled his eyes. He had obviously been thinking about that argument for a while. “We are not visiting San Diego Zoo, Theo. You’re not 12.”

He met his eyes through the rear-view mirror. “Well, Dunbar, seems like I already got tickets for tomorrow.”

 

-

_From: Chris Argent_

_Heard you're on the way to Mexico._

 

_To: Chris Argent_

_Yeah... is it a stupid idea?_

 

_From: Chris Argent_

_No. It's smart. It gets you out of town as well._

_I was going to go myself, but now I'll send you the location where they were seen last._

_Dont engage if you're not sure you can't take them on, they're more skilled than you would think._

 

_To: Chris Argent_

_We won't. Do you think it's stupid to go with Theo?_

 

_From: Chris Argent_

_I think he trusts you more than you know._

_You're specifically_ _out for the why and when, any maps or any notes._

 

_To: Chris Argent_

_That wasn't an answer._

_Ok, we'll be careful._

 

_From: Chris Argent_

_You have your own answer._

_I know. Call me in the morning._

 

_-_

 

They checked in on a hotel on the outskirts of San Diego. They had been driving for almost seven hours and when the hotel sign was seen in the dark, Liam turned the wheel so fast Liam almost fell over. He had argued that he wouldn’t drive another meter.

They had made a few stops before the seven-hour drive; to eat, get some clothes and stop to argue about the god damn zoo tickets that Theo had actually pre-purchased.

He didn’t know why he agreed on it at last as it was a stupid idea, but Theo was kind of right. With both of them out of town and the bounty only over his head… the hunters wouldn’t do anything. And if they came for Malia, she could definitely fend for herself and Corey could literally go invisible. They weren’t alone either, she had Peter, Derek and Parrish on their side too, other than the pack, Argent and Sheriff Stilinski.

Half a day couldn’t hurt, right?

The hotel was probably way more expensive than any of them could afford but it didn’t stop them as they stumbled in on the red carpet. The hall was very neat; white, clear walls surrounding them in a perfect square. In the middle right ahead of them, the receptionist was standing, hand in front of her, inspecting her nails.

Yeah, no. Liam and Theo did not fit in at all. At least not Liam. Theo on the other hand, ran both his hands through his hair, putting it in place before he straightened his jacket and put the most mischievous smile he could on his lips and walked up to the reception. Liam followed behind him, glaring up at Theo who apparently knew exactly what he was doing.

“Hi, darling”, he smiled, voice soft as silk. Liam hated it.

The receptionist looked up from her nails, smiling sweetly at him and not even bothering to look over at Liam besides him. Fine, she might be watching at the most attractive boy she’d ever seen, but she could at least acknowledge he was there?

“How can I help you, handsome?” she grinned with white, perfect teeth. “You need a room?”

Obviously, Liam thought. What else?

“Yes please, what can you offer?”

She leaned forward, blonde locks falling over her shoulders. “Depends on what you’re looking for.”

Theo leaned forward as well to meet her invitation and Liam had to really concentrate to resist the urge to pull him back. He clenched his fists together gritted his teeth.

“I’m looking for the softest sheets you can offer”, he said sweetly, “but affordable, of course.” Theo let out a big, dramatic sigh, “a long way to drive and a lot of hotels to visit.”

“Where you heading?” she asked, leaning back again, looking through her computer.

“Just through our beautiful country, going to visit my grandmother in Louisiana.”

Liam was just going to point out that explanation was the absolute worst he had ever heard and there was no way he was gonna flatter anyone with that, but she laughed lovely. “That’s so sweet!” she chirped, “how many nights are you planning on staying?”

“Thank you, it was a long time I saw her so it’s going to be lovely. Two nights”, Theo smiled at her. Liam, who actually knew him, could see that the smile was super fake as it didn’t even reach his eyes. Not like when he was smiling at him. He could feel the anger bubbling slightly under the surface inside of him.

“I got a beautiful room on the fifth floor. Beautiful view over the city. King-sized.” She actually winked at him. Liam stared, eyes wide open at her extremely rude behavior.

“No single beds?”

She shook her head. “No, sorry. All out for tonight.”

“I’ll take it”, he smiled, “I trust your opinion… what’s your name?”

Lyssa, it said on the sign on her chest. Liam kicked his leg and got a harder kick back, but Theo’s fake expression didn’t rub.

“Lyssa”, she said, “what’s yours?”

“You can call me Theo”, he grabbed her hand, giving her a quick peck on her knuckles.

She chuckled at the gesture. “Well, Theo. I think this room happens to be at half price, it’s your lucky day.”

“Lucky me”, he answered, tone warm.

She grabbed the keys, holding them in front of him so he could take them. Liam was faster this time, snatching them from her hand, mumbling a quick “thanks”, before rushing towards the elevator.

Theo was laughing at him as he stepped in the elevator just before the door closed. This laugh sounded more real than the one he used to the receptionist. “What are you so upset for?” he grinned at him, “I got us half price.”

“You sure you’re not gonna invite her up?” Liam snapped at him.

Theo tilted his head slightly to the right. “No, why would I?”

“By the way you flirted with her it sure seemed that way.” Liam knew he sounded bitter. He didn’t want to look up at the older boy, knowing Theo was inspecting him.

“Would that bother you?” Theo asked and Liam couldn’t make out what the slight shift in his voice meant.

“Yes”, Liam said, still not meeting his gaze. He didn’t know what the problem was with them and elevators but everything suddenly seemed too quiet, and Theo’s warm breath ghosted over his cheek. He was standing closer than Liam expected.

A part of him wanted Theo to laugh it away, but the taller boy just stepped a little bit closer, just enough for Liam to clearly hear the sound of his steady breathing. “Why?” Theo asked, voice vibrating over Liam’s hot skin.

He swallowed, finally daring to glance up at the chimera. Theo had his head tilted, his lips slightly parted as he watched Liam with unreadable eyes. It was way too hot in there, was it something wrong with the air condition? Why did it take hours to get to the fifth floor? Why did they make elevators this small? Liam felt a slight panic raise, but it was quickly replaced with another feeling as – if he wasn’t imagining it – Theo’s eyes drifted down to his lips. Liam licked them quickly and Theo was definitely following the movement.

Fuck.

The elevator gave up a sound, and the doors swung open on the fifth floor. Fresh air from the corridor made a shiver run down the younger boy’s spine. Good thing new air filled the small space, because a few more seconds in there and Theo would have been able to _smell_ what his stupid eyes made Liam feel.

Neither of them moved and he could swear he could taste the tension hanging in the air.

“It’d bother anyone”, Liam whispered after few more moments of complete silence in the hotel. Theo could probably hear him lying but he honestly didn’t care. He didn’t even know why he was whispering. The way Theo’s eyes intensely watched every movement of his lips made it hard to get out any words. What the hell was that feeling?

Finally, after what felt like minutes, Theo stretched his back, took the keys from Liam’s hand and left the elevator. They didn’t discuss the fact that they were going to share a bed, they just did what they had to do in silence. Liam was sitting on the right side of the bed as Theo locked himself in the bathroom. He rested his head against his hands.

There was a bounty on his head and he was in San Diego with Theo, sharing a hotel room and a god damn bed. If the roles between him and Mason were switched, he’d be super pissed off as well. It wasn’t the smartest plan he’d come up it, hell, it wasn’t even a plan, but it was still better than sitting at home worrying. If they could find the hunter family in Mexico, it could give them an answer on what they wanted, why now, and how they could stop them, and that was exactly what Liam needed.

It was purely business and visiting a damn zoo could give the opportunity to throw Theo to the tigers, so something positive could come out of it. Strictly business. Scott would agree.

Theo came out, yawning loudly as he threw his t-shirt over his head. Liam couldn’t help but running his eyes down his well-trained body. Theo was extremely attractive, he’d just be stupid not to admit that. Anyone could see it, even Mason said so, and he was actually gay. By the was Theo had spoken to the receptionist he was aware of his good looks as well.

“Anything you like, Dunbar?” the chimera smirked, but his voice was more tired than mocking.

“Nah”, Liam shrugged, throwing his own shirt on top of Theo’s on the floor, “just noticing you’re falling behind on the gym.”

He got an angry glare in response. “I am definitely not”, Theo snorted.

Liam gave him a quick smile to show he was kidding, and buried himself in the very comfortable blanket on his side of the bed. Theo did the same.

“Please try not to snore too much”, he yawned.

“I don’t snore”, Liam insisted.

“And I didn’t drive seven hours to hear you lie. Ill kick you off the bed if you do.”

“Whatever, asshole.” Liam turned to his side, noticing the radio standing on the nightstand. “Can I put it on?”

Theo nodded in the dark, so Liam did. He lowered the volume, leaning back on his pillow, eyes up in the roof. Theo’s steady heartbeat was steady besides him.

_I know you said life is just a dream and death is waking up_

_Success is never guaranteed, not leavin’ it up to luck,_

_I’m still sleepin’_

_Won’t wake and accept reality_

Liam noticed Theo was mimicking the words beside him. His fingers were tapping the sheet with the beat of the music.

_Herds of sheep be surroundin’ me_

_Mediocrity has challenged me_

_Your dream is possible, you can reach it if you listen_

Liam let out a quiet breath.

“ _My inherent disposition has left me in this position to sit”,_ Theo was breathing out the lyrics now, loud enough for Liam to hear words, “ _ponderin’ madness seekin’ the best in my intentions of what I long to convey,_

_Out of every uttered sentence,_

_Your sentence be something vicious of you_

_Quit and let your vision slip.”_

Theo turned his head to look over at Liam at the same time Liam looked over at him. The room was dark but with their vision, Liam could see the soft expression on the chimera’s face. His eyes were heavy, like he was about to fall asleep any second. He looked vulnerable and Liam wondered if anyone else had ever seen him this exposed before.

_Want it bad enough?_

Theo met his searching gaze.

_Then fuckin’ die for it._


	5. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo is a stubborn idiot. Liam doesn't care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't expecting this to a be a full chapter... but here we are.

Liam woke up to a scream.

For a short moment he thought he imagined it and was just about to fall back into the cozy dreams he had about kittens and puppies or whatever, but then he heard a whimper besides him.

An actual whimper.

Breathing in, he realized the smell of sweat, anxiety and fear filled every part of the room making him almost dizzy. It took another few moments for him to wake up enough to realize it was coming from Theo, who was lying next to him.

Theo’s hands were clenching the sheets, his eyes were pressed together hard like he tried to close himself out from whatever dream he was having. Quiet sounds were leaving his slightly parted lips and a few drops of sweat was running down his hairline.

Liam stared at him, he couldn’t move. He could feel his own chest tighten at the sight; he had never seen Theo this exposed before; this helpless.

“Theo”, Liam breathed, his hand hovering the anxiety-filled air as he wasn’t sure if reaching out and touch him was the best idea. He remembered when he used to have nightmares a long time ago and Mason tried to wake him up; it made him absolutely terrified, thinking his nightmares were actually in the room with him.

Now, it was the chimera’s claws that was ripping the sheets.

“Hey, Theo”, Liam said again, closing the distance between his fingers and Theo’s wrist. He felt hot, like he was burning. He squeezed tightly, running his thumb across the thin skin. “Wake up.”

Theo did. His heart was beating so fast Liam thought he would pass out from stress. But instead, the chimera flew up in a sitting position. He looked around the room frantically, eyes filled with raw panic, before they reached Liam.

They stared at each other for a few seconds while Theo’s heart was slowing and he seemed to come back down to the moment. He could see a thousand emotions running through his eyes, like his brain couldn’t settle for just one.

Liam realized he was still holding his wrist so tightly it would leave a bruise, but he couldn’t care to let go, not when Theo was looking at him like this. He ran his thumb over the sensitive skin of his wrist again and it seemed to bring the chimera to finally take action.

Theo snapped his hand back, holding it against his chest as he flew out of the bed to grab the clothes on the floor. He was already halfway out when he pulled it over his head and didn’t look back as he slammed the door shut with a  _bang._

Liam didn’t have a chance to say a word. He heard Theo’s footsteps disappearing down the hotel corridor and didn’t have a chance to say a word. He was left wondering if he had imagined it, or if Theo actually had calmed down by his voice and his touch.

He sat staring for a long moment wondering what kinds of nightmares could be going through the mind of someone like Theo; everything he had done. He remembered when he got the brilliant idea to hide in the morgue of the hospital and the smell of anxiety filled the room as Theo froze in his step for a few seconds, staring at the doors hiding away the dead. He had said he thought he was somewhere else for a moment, in a dream.

The same dream maybe?

Liam knew Theo most likely wanted to be left alone, but he wasn’t very good at listening to the chimera, let alone anyone, so he grabbed his hoodie, the hotel key card and left the hot room to follow him.

It was quiet in the corridors. Downstairs, he could hear the clinging of glass and realized Theo was probably at the bar; it was only just after 2am and he had seen a sign that the bar was open until 3am as they entered the hotel the evening before.

Liam was correct. As he came down the last stairs he could see the back of Theo’s figure as he was sitting facing away from the stairs in the bar. He had a glass of what looked like whiskey in his hand, which was stupid since they couldn’t get drunk.

He knew the chimera could hear him, because he let out a groan when Liam got closer, and without turning his head around he sighed, “wasn’t slamming a door in your face a sign enough to leave me alone?”

The bartender looked at him with his brows raised, impressed Theo knew it was Liam coming up from behind.

“No”, Liam said, sitting down next to the taller boy. “Whiskey, please”, he told the bartender with such certainty he didn’t even get asked for ID. Another day in another situation he'd be cheering and texting Mason about it, but now it wasn't really the moment for celebration.

“Would you leave if I asked you now?” Theo seemed tired.

“No”, Liam answered as he got the glass put down in front of him. “You wanna talk about it?”

He earned an exhausted glare in response. “Does it look like I want to talk about it?” Theo snapped.

“No”, Liam repeated for the third time, “but you look like you need to.”

Theo shook his head a few times, emptying his glass. “I don’t”, he said, “go back to sleep Liam, don’t want you to be extra angry tomorrow because you’re tired.”

“What about you?” he countered, “you need sleep to.”

The chimera took the drink from Liam’s hand and brought it to his own lips. “Be right up.”

But Liam wasn’t having it. He knew he was stupid by pushing Theo into talking about things he definitely didn’t want to talk about, but it also seemed like he needed someone to listen. He had probably never had anyone to vent to ever before; and there was literally only Liam there right now, if he didn’t want to tell the bartender about all the killing he’d done.

“What did you dream about?”

“Rainbows and puppies.”

“Do you have nightmares often?”

“Never had one.”

“Are they always the same- “

“Stop!” Theo snapped. His eyes flashed yellow for a brief second and glass in his hand exploded into a million pieces, making the bartender jump in surprise. Stepping on the glass on the floor beneath him, Theo left without another word, angry footsteps filling the otherwise silent hotel. 

Liam muttered an excuse to the clearly shaken bartender, left their room number on a paper and told him to add any damage repair on their bill and ran after the chimera. He could practically follow the smell of anxiety, almost in level with Stiles after his void-period, up the stairs. He was heading back to their room.

He knew he was being an absolute ass about it but he also knew Theo wouldn’t go back to their hotel room if he actually wanted to be alone. As Liam suspected, he hadn’t brought a key card, so he just stood outside the door with his arms crossed and watching the handle as Liam came up to his side.

“Next time you run away, bring one of these”, he smiled at him, holding up the key card. Theo didn’t seem very impressed.

“Sure.”

Theo entered the room first and by the look on his face Liam suspected he would lock himself in the bathroom like an angry teen, so he acted first. “Look, you know I don’t mean to intrude and you don’t have to tell me anything, but you can’t wake up at night screaming and not expect me to ask about it?”

“Actually, Liam, that’s exactly what I’m expecting.” His tone was harsh and dark, almost mocking.

Liam took a deep breath to calm himself down. Don’t let him get to you, he reminded himself. “Well, then you’re wrong.”

The chimera looked like he was seriously considering punching him across the room. It wasn’t really anger he saw rising in his eyes, it was more irritation, even confusion; like he wasn’t sure why or how he was reacting. “Get another room, I’ll pay you.”

“Are you serious?” Liam laughed, loudly and almost hysterically.

“Yes, Liam. Leave.”

“Oh my- are you- are you for real? No!” He yelled out the last word, “I’m offering to listen to your stupid dreams and why you’re a god damn asshole all the time, but you still refuse!”

The wolf in Liam was absolutely furious. It had no idea why Theo was acting like this and it made him so angry. He would never in a hundred years admit or even acknowledge what his wolf was trying to tell him because there was no way to justify it.

He felt the same worry, the same anger as when he knew Scott was in danger, or Stiles, Malia or Mason; or any other god damn pack member. Plus _Theo._ And what that meant for him and his wolf was unacceptable. There was no way to justify or forgive what Theo had actually done, letting his sister die, manipulating and actually killing his alpha, his pack and Liam didn’t even want to know who else, but still his stupid wolf looked at the chimera in front of him and thought _pack._

There was no way to justify that.

“I don’t need or want your pity”, Theo bit back, and Liam hated that even if he could see the anger in his eyes he didn’t let it out.

“It’s not pity, your idiot!” he was still yelling.

Theo had the audacity to actually snort at him. “Right. So you’re saying you’re not just going to laugh it off with Stiles later and I’m gonna hear how much I deserve it for killing Scott? Sure. Get out of here, Dunbar.”

Liam was lost for words. “Why would I do that?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“Because that’s what you guys do.” Theo crossed his arms over his chest and Liam just… Liam just punched him.

It wasn’t like meant to, well, he didn’t _not_ mean to either, but it seemed to surprise Theo as he stumbled back, one hand over his nose and the other one looking for something to hold on to behind him. His hand found the wall and he groaned, wiping the blood from under his nose. Liam’s eyes were bright yellow as he met Theo’s.

“You are so god damn blind”, Liam growled, taking a step against him, “here you are, not too long after manipulating me into almost killing my own alpha, and finish the job when I couldn’t. Here you are after killing your own pack and I don’t even know how many others, and I’m still standing here! Why?”

The question was hanging in the silence for a good while before Theo spitted out an answer. “Because you’re stupid?”

“Oh yeah”, Liam agreed, taking another step forward, “obviously. But you did all that to us, to _me_ , and I still chase you down the corridor of a hotel because you had a nightmare. Doesn’t that tell you anything?”

He could feel his wolf clawing to get out on the inside. _What three things cannot long be hidden?_

“No, god damnit it Liam, it doesn’t!” Theo’s voice was desperate as he wiped the blood from his nose off on his shirt, “why else would you bother asking if it’s not to report back to Scott, to see if I _changed,_ or if I'm having some evil plans to corrupt you?”

Liam ran his tongue over the fangs in his mouth. “Because”, he growled. _The sun._ “Despite all the fucked-up things you did”, _the moon, “_ I care, Theo.” _The truth._

He blinked, and his eyes shifted back to his normal, baby-blue eyes. Theo was staring at him like he was considering whether he should stay or run away. They were standing close now, only a meter apart and the former anxiety filled air was now full of anger and confusion and somehow that didn’t make it better.

“You do?” Theo asked after a while, tilting his head slightly to the side, probably unintentional; like he was trying to concentrate on Liam’s heart to see if he was lying.

“Don’t ask me why”, Liam sighed. He wasn’t lying. “I know I shouldn’t.”

“Self-aware”, Theo raised an eyebrow, back to his old, mocking self.

“You’re changing the subject”, Liam reminded him coldly, he was still angry and was very ready to punch some sense into the chimera.

Theo turned away to face out the window behind him. It wasn’t too dark outside, the lights from San Diego was lightning up the outskirts of the city brightly. Liam came up next to him, following Theo’s eyes, looking down at the buildings standing tall in the distance.

“It’s different”, the taller boy said after a few moments of silence, “every night, it’s different. Usually it’s from my time down below; my sister taking her heart back. But sometimes it’s Scott just before I kill him, when he told me I was barely even human.”

Liam looked at him. Theo’s tone was casual, like he was talking about the weather, but Liam could see in his eyes it pained him to bring the memories of his dreams - of his reality - back to life. He had never gotten the details of what happened between Scott and Theo as he left for Hayden; only the big picture, but he guessed this wasn’t the best moment to ask.

“But this time?” Liam asked carefully, glancing over at the chimera. Theo didn’t look back at him.

“This time”, he sighed, “it was you ripping my heart out to give it back to my sister. It was you telling me I’m not human.”

Liam bit his lip, his heart beating hard in his chest and he could hear Theo’s doing the same. For the first time since he had started to open up, Theo met his gaze. His eyes were unreadable, filled with color and emotion Liam hadn’t seen on him before and he wasn’t sure what it meant.

He realized the chimera was probably waiting for him to answer, but it was hard when all he wanted to do was to give the broken boy next to him a damn hug. “I wouldn’t do that”, he said after a while and Theo actually chuckled.

“No, it goes against the pack rules”, he said quietly.

“I didn’t mean that. If it wasn’t for you, I’d probably killed someone by now. I’d probably killed Nolan, or Gabe.”

“But you didn’t”, Theo reminded him.

Liam nodded slowly, not taking his gaze off him. “No, but I would have if you didn’t stop me. What I meant was I wouldn’t do that because I don’t agree. You’re as much human as I am.”

Theo shook his head. His voice was still steady and casual, but he was reeking of regret, something Liam would never expect to happen if you had asked him a year ago.

“No”, Theo scuffed out a laugh, “don’t be more of an idiot than usual, baby alpha.”

Liam smiled slightly. “It’s your heart. It’s in your body.”

“You do know I let my sister die, right?” Theo was rising his eyebrows, his usual playful expression starting to show on his face again. The thick air around them started to fade away.

“Yep. But you were nine. We have all done some questionable things in that age.” He couldn’t help but curve his lips up of the thought of comparing Liam tearing an old book apart or whatever disobedient things he was doing at that age, with Theo ripping the heart out of his sister after letting her die. It was an idiotic comparison and they both knew that.

Theo laughed at him, a genuine soft laugh. “You’re actually insane”, he decided. “We should go back to sleep though, it’s zoo day tomorrow.”

Liam nodded, still smiling. “Yeah. No more screaming though, please. Otherwise I actually will throw you to the tigers tomorrow.”

“Still love to see you try”, Theo yawned back, his heart back to the steady rhythm Liam was used to.


	6. A day off, maybe?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo and Liam goes to the zoo. Nothing can go wrong, right? Except for the fact that Liam almost got killed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a super long chapter but I didn't have any real good part to cut it in half, so I'll just post it as a whole... oops?  
> Ps: I've never been to San Diego Zoo so if any information is incorrect im sorry lmao but I tried my best...

They stood in front of the big, green sign, waiting for their turn in the line for the entrance of San Diego Zoo. It was a cloudy day and Liam suspected it would be starting to rain any moment. A good day for the zoo, so to speak.

There hadn’t been anymore nightmares, at least not any that woke Liam up, and Theo seemed to be in a pretty good mood as he grinned up at the sign in front of them. Liam wouldn’t be surprised if he pulled up a camera and asked him to say cheese.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this”, Liam groaned, “this is so stupid. My life is threatened, Theo.”

The chimera looked at him with serious eyes. “I’ve heard there’s a lot of animals in here that’s facing extinction too, Liam. Don’t be so selfish.”

Liam glared at him, mouth open like he didn’t know what to answer to that annoyingly stupid comment. “I hate you.”

“No you don’t”, Theo grinned at him and Liam didn’t answer, because he didn’t want to give the taller boy the chance to hear he’d be lying if he said _yes I do._

The sweet looking brunette sitting in the entrance smiled friendly at them as it finally got their turn. “Hello, welcome to San Diego Zoo, how can I help you?”

Theo gave her the biggest smile he could offer back. “Two daily tickets, please.”

“I thought you pre-purchased- “Liam started, but cut himself off when he got a wink back from the chimera. “You’re an actual idiot”, he groaned instead.

“Got to do what I got to do”, Theo shrugged.

They were let in after a few more moment and Theo looked like a kid visiting the candy store for the first time. He had never really thought about him having a personality outside the supernatural before; what his interests were. Did he like to read? Was he a cat or a dog person? Was he afraid if heights?

Was it weird to ask? Or did he had to drag Theo out on adventures like to find out what he liked to do? He wasn’t sure if it was the actual animals or just the experience itself that made Theo so insistent on going to the zoo. There was so many questions he meant to ask, like what did he do all the years he spent with the dread doctors, was he allowed any normal life, or was he locked in a basement all day and all night with the German nazi soldier? Did he go out for pizza, did he have any friends to play video games with, had he ever held a console in his hands? Did he-

“Alright”, Theo interrupted his thoughts, holding a map of the zoo in his hands. “Urban jungle?  Do you like giraffes?”

“No”, Liam shook his head, “but a rhino I could stand seeing.”

“Boring”, Theo said, “I want to see the wolves.”

“And I want the tigers so I can’t watch them tear your to shreds.”

He got a laugh in response. “Get over yourself, come on.”

They left walking towards the rhinos. This was going to be a day of total waste of time but it made Liam happy to see Theo so relaxed. They walked mostly in silence, but there wasn’t anything important to be said anyways so it didn’t really matter to either of them. It was a comfortable silence.

They were acting like actual children, Theo pointing to the ugliest animal he could see saying _that one looks like you_ and Liam getting back at him by snorting _at least I don’t look like that one_ and point at another ugly animal. But he was having fun, he was enjoying getting compared to ugly animals and laughing at children dropping their ice cream cone. One mother got so angry at Theo’s pointing and laughing when her child fell she called on the security, so the two supernaturals had to disperse from the scene as fast as they could, hands on each other’s backs and laughing so hard tears were forming in their eyes.

They saw the elephants and Theo was genially surprised over how big the animals were. He compared them to the Beast and said he’d expect the gigantic demon werewolf was going to be bigger and Liam glared angrily at him for even bringing it up on their day off.

They saw the lion pack, and like most predators the lions took a special interest in both Liam and Theo as they stood in the front, grinning like idiots. Theo tried the growly-yellow eyed face to scare them off, but the look he got from the male lion was more to say _are you serious?_ And Liam had to remind him this was a top _cat_ predator, and cats didn’t give a fuck about dogs. He couldn’t scare them off like he could the police K9’s.

But he could scare off the wolves; which he did. Four times, before Liam slapped him on the back of his head and left to not die of embarrassment.

It started pouring sometime after lunch, but it didn’t stop them from continuing for the pandas after passing by some, according to the chimera, boring and unnecessary animals. Liam was soaked, water with the taste of shampoo dripping from his forehead and his shoes making disgusting sounds as they made their way down the main park way. Theo wasn’t in any better shape, his hair parted in the middle and fell down his face, making him look a bit younger than he actually was. With rain dripping down his cheeks, but his whole face lit up in a big grin, he was the most beautiful thing Liam had ever seen.

He didn’t know exactly when that thought had stopped scaring him; it didn’t mean anything. Anyone with working eyes would agree with him. Theo leaned over the enclosure of some penguins on their way to the pandas, shaking his head in disappointment as he expected them to be bigger. He pouted at Liam, making sure the werewolf really understood how absolutely devastated he was over this.

But it wouldn’t really be Theo if he hadn’t stolen some fries from a couple who was busy trying to take a selfie and laughed mockingly at their surprised reactions as they turned back and their plates were empty. And it wouldn’t be Theo if Liam didn’t have to watch his every step to make sure he didn’t plan to throw him to the monkeys _because isn’t that were you belong?_

Liam had visited San Diego Zoo a couple of times when he was young, but it was at least ten years ago and even though he might not have been as excited as the chimera, he really liked the experience. The rain emptied the park of many visitors, so it wasn’t very hard to get the best sightseeing spots at the enclosures, especially not since Theo threw any kid in his way aside because he argued his experience was more important since the kids at least had a childhood. Liam had lost count on how many times he had rolled his eyes in the chimera’s direction that day; soon his eyes would probably pop out.

It was when they were standing by the pandas, Liam just wondering if eating and sleeping was everything pandas did all day and if there was a way to turn into a werepanda, Theo suddenly grabbed his arm.

Hard.

 “Don’t turn around”, he said, voice low in a warning as he pretended to look at something in front of them.

Liam turned around and Theo looked like he was about to turn him into bamboo so the pandas could eat him. “Sorry”, Liam rushed, “can’t see anything?”

“There’s a couple in leather jackets standing by the trash cans”, Theo continued, “did you see them?”

Liam thought back for a second. “Think so, why?”

“They’ve been following us for at least an hour now.”

“It’s a zoo, people are allowed to walk around”, Liam pointed out but Theo shook his head at him.

“No, you know when we went past the same monkey five times?”

“Yeah?”

“So did they. And when I said I needed to use the bathroom four times in 30 minutes?” Liam nodded. “So did they, apparently. And when- “

Liam held up his hand and Theo surprisingly enough stopped talking. He could hear their heartbeats walking up next to Liam’s right side. They didn’t say anything at first, so Theo took it as an invitation to start the conversation, as always.

“What do you think the pandas would do if you threw a human down there?” he asked, looking at Liam.

The werewolf smirked back at him. “Not sure, you want to try?”

“Not me, maybe we could ask someone else?”

Theo put on a sweet smile and leaned forward so he could see the couple standing next to them. Liam could hear their pulse sticking up, but both the man and woman had a stone-cold expression when they met Theo’s even colder eyes.

“We know what you are”, the woman said, breaking eye contact to look down at the big bears beneath them. She pretended to look care-free, but her pulse gave her away.

“Cool”, Theo said, “then you probably know what we’re capable of too.”

She looked back, gave him a big smirk and then something cold was pressed to Liam’s waist. He froze.

“Yes, and you would know a bullet filled with wolfsbane wouldn’t do very good to any of you.”

Liam felt the panic rise in him as she pressed the gun harder against him but Theo looked like he was about to fall asleep. “Sure”, he nodded, “what do you want?”

“Scott McCall.”

Liam could see Theo relaxing just slightly, and he hoped it was because he realized they weren’t with the same group who wanted Liam dead. It made his heart skip a beat.

“Can’t help you there”, Theo shrugged, “not his pack.”

The woman’s smirk grew bigger. “You’re not the one with a gun on your waist, are you? You’re Liam Dunbar, you’re his beta. You can tell me where he is.”

“He’s not here”, Liam growled at them and got a warning glance from Theo. They were in public and if he shifted here they’d be in a lot of trouble.

“He sent you off with someone like Theo Raeken by yourself? Sorry kid, don’t believe that”, the man snorted at them.

Theo raised his brows. “Done some homework, have we?”

She nodded. “So you’re going to follow us out to our car without struggle, or the little one gets a bullet.”

Theo looked like he was about to protest, but Liam sent him a pleading look. “Absolutely”, he chirped. What a day to be alive.

They walked in silence. If people weren’t caught up in their zoo experience, they probably would have noticed something was wrong. Whether or not they choose to ignore it or didn’t notice, the four of them eventually reached the main gates, sneaking past the security guards on their way out. He considered telling them, yelling _gun!_ but he didn’t want to risk shifting in front of a crows this big, he couldn’t afford being recognized or exposed or this whole Mexico-trip-idea would have been for nothing.

Also for the fact that he would most likely die, considering they had no idea what type of wolfsbane they were dealing with and they had nothing to potentially burn it out with.

They reached the car without saying a word, and the woman gestured for Liam to get in after the man who was not holding the gun. Liam did as she told.

“And for you”, she turned to Theo, “I’m not sure what to do with you.”

Theo crossed his eyes, a mocking smirk on his lips. “You said it yourself. Scott wouldn’t leave him out here with me.”

“So?” she raised her brows.

“So, what do you think I’ll do? Risk my life to save _him_? Let me run, I won’t bother you.”

Liam stared at him. He couldn’t tell whether the chimera was faking it or not considering how good he was at keeping his pulse and heart steady. “Theo- “ he started.

The woman laughed, an evil sound. “There’s no need for you in this world, Raeken. You don’t contribute anything.” She turned to Liam. “You’d leave a defenseless kid to die? There’s absolutely no heart in your empty soul.”

Theo didn’t break character. “I’d put myself over anyone”, he said coldly.

She waved him away, like she had nothing more to add to the conversation before slamming the door shut in front of Liam. He met Theo’s gaze in the mirror and the chimera looked at him with an unreadable face.

They drove away slowly, leaving Liam alone with the two hunters. The man hadn’t said much, he just sat there with the gun pointing at the werewolf and a stone cold look on his face, but Liam could smell the fear around him.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Liam snorted at whoever of them wanted to answer.

“Of course we do”, he smiled at him through the rear view mirror. “We just want Scott McCall, and there’s no better way than to take his precious beta.”

“Scott isn’t here”, Liam growled at her, eyes flashing yellow.

“You’re not scaring us”, she said when she met his eyes, “you can cut the act, Liam.”

He smirked at her. “What are you gonna do? Tie me up?”

 

-

 

Sometimes Liam just wished he could shut the hell up. He was standing with his back against a cold, stone wall and his wrists were forced up over his head in thick chains. Liam would lie if he didn’t think this method was getting kind of boring.

In front of him, both the woman and the man were standing. He was still reeking of the same nervousity as before, but she seemed more collected now that she had Liam tied up. He had let them do it without any real struggle, but oh had he fought himself harder than he had probably ever done before trying not to lash out. If he had learnt anything from leading himself or a group from Scott, it was to wait for the right moment before acting.

Liam wasn’t the person for that motto since both his brain and his wolf strongly believed in act first think later, but if he was going to practice sometime this might as well be the right time since he didn’t have a pack to bust him free with him.

 _The sun, the moon, the truth,_ he repeated to himself as the woman got up from her chair, walking up to him. She was, surprisingly enough, even shorter than him, so Liam felt a little better with that fact. Tall people terrified him.

“Why don’t we try again?”, she sighed.

Liam had no idea how long he’d been standing there. If he was human, he’d sure be having serious cramps running up his arms.

She got a growl from the werewolf as an answer.

“What hotel are you staying at?”

“How did you know I was here?” Liam countered.

“Where’s Scott McCall and why hasn’t he come for you yet?”

Liam wished his hands were free so he could punch her in the face. He _knew_ he hadn’t even told Scott about any of this yet and the alpha had no idea he was out of Beacon Hills, but still the phrase _he hasn’t come for you yet_ made something ache in his body. The feeling that maybe no one did care enough.

Maybe Theo actually wouldn’t come back, maybe he had overestimated their relation and Theo just had his own plan all along. But-

“Andrés, can you hand me the stun gun?”

The man – Andrés – nodded and without a word handed her the stun gun from the table next to the chair he was sitting on.

They were in some type of basement. It didn’t look too secluded, it looked just like a normal family house basement, but they had walked through what felt like kilometers of tunnels to get here. Liam suspected it was just a decoy, though, because it was very much alike any house he had ever lived in.

The room was but empty except two hooks holding his chain, and two chairs around a non-fitting, beautiful wooden table. The was only a bookshelf on the right side of Liam, and while concentrating he thought he could see light coming from underneath.

It if was another door, an actual basement door leading up to a house, Liam would give himself the biggest high five himself for thinking long before acting.

“So Liam, I’ll ask again.” Oh, right. “Where is Scott McCall?”

She didn’t wait for a response. The absolute worst part of being tazed, Liam came to learn, was the fact that your body couldn’t move. You could feel the electricity, the tingle and the straight up _pain_ , but your body couldn’t move or do anything about it.

Liam glared up at her, fangs out and eyes bright yellow. His hair was hanging down over his face in a sweaty mess and he was breathing heavily. He didn’t know what kind of homemade torture machine they made out of a normal stun gun, but he was not a fan of it.

“He’s not here”, Liam growled at her. He was not giving up his alpha, especially not when he was trying to enjoy his college life.

Where the hell was Theo? Did he abandon him?

“You do know the only reason I don’t kill you right now is because I want to see his face as I kill his beta, right?”

Liam bit after her and wasn’t many centimeters from getting a hold of her fingers. He could hear her heart skip a couple of beats, so it felt like a small victory after all.

“You do know I could probably get out of these if I tried hard enough?” Liam spat back.

She smiled and managed to get it looking both soft and harsh at the same time. “If you could, we’d be dead and you’d be on your way out of here.”

“Is that so? I bet I could- “

Liam wasn’t sure who was more surprised of the three of them as from the silence, a loud enough to make the walls shake, roar filled the room. It echoed between the wall and Liam reacted on instinct as the wolf inside him recognized his alpha.

_Scott._

But that made no sense, he should be- Liam held his breath, listening carefully. There was some kind of metallic sound, maybe… yeah. A recording? It was a recording. But who-

Another roar joined in the melody and Liam felt a shiver run down his sweaty spine. _Theo._ Without a doubt, even if he actually hadn’t heard the chimera roar before it was unmistakably Theo. But why the hell did he have a recording of Scott-

“They’re here”, the woman breathed, a smirk staring to play on her lips. Oh, so that’s why. They couldn’t tell the difference between the recording and the real roar. She believed the whole pack was here. “Thought they’d never show up.” She was looking at Liam now.

“You know what they say”, Liam breathed heavily as the sound of Theo died out, “a lone wolf never makes it on his own.”

Liam roared back. He got a good few seconds before the stun gun found his skin and his voice got stuck in his throat as the pain ripped through his body.

“Andrés, take left”, she said, loading her gun as she pressed her back to the right side of the door leading out to the tunnels.

Liam held his breath, considering yelling for Theo to get upstairs, if his theory of this actually being a house was correct, but he also knew if Theo was smart enough to use a pre-recorded sound of Scott roaring – again, why did he have that? – he was also smart enough to realize it was a trap.

Just as the thought left his mind, a mocking tone was heart through the walls. “You do know I can hear your heartbeats, right?”

Theo.

“We just want the alpha”, the woman yelled back at the chimera, “let him in first and we won’t kill the beta.”

Liam groaned, letting his chin fall to rest on his chest. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and blocked out the nervous heartbeats from the humans by the door, concentrating on the anger deep in his chest, bubbling on the surface. There were only two chains, it was nothing

You could do this, Dunbar.

Another deep breath, and as he opened his eyes and let go of the guard he had been building up the past few hours. With a strong rip and a loud growl coming from deep in his throat, he ripped his wrists free and fell hands first on the floor, breath hitching from the pain from the last hours of stun gun torture.

At the same time as Liam could control his head enough to look up, the woman was spinning around towards him. Behind her, the chimera showed up from the dark. First, there was only the light of his shining eyes, but then he came leaping in. He gave the man a kick in the side and he fell to the floor without any struggle and exposed his fangs in the direction of the woman they still had no name on.

Liam got up on his feet but only to freeze in place as he heard a gun loading. As he looked up, she fired the gun. The wolfsbane gun.

Liam could swear his heart actually stopped, but the bullet didn’t hit him. It almost brushed his upper arm as it went right past him, hitting the wall. Her hands were shaking as she too realized she had missed and she took a step back, eyes wide in fear.

Theo stepped in front of her, one clawed hand running down the wall, sending a shivering sound echoing around the room. “You could’ve hit him”, Theo said, voice low, a warning, and she took another step back into the corridor.

“I-“ she started, “I didn’t-“

Liam came up to his side and just like a dog, he knew if she started running, he’d chase after.

“You should probably go”, Theo said, “and drag your useless companion with you.”

As she started stalking towards the man lying unconsciousness on the floor, Liam started moving after her. She almost killed him, if she’s had been a better shot he would have been dead, he was going to-

He was stopped almost immediately by a warm hand wrapping around his wrist. Liam looked up, and Theo gave him a reassuring look, mouthing _calm down_ at him. Liam clenched his jaw.

Theo didn’t let go. He didn’t let go until the hunters were long gone out of the tunnels and the heartbeats couldn’t be heart anymore. They stood staring after them and Liam could finally feel himself relaxing enough to let his wolf rest.

Theo was the first to move, as he slowly let go of the werewolf’s wrist, the lack of contact making a shiver go through Liam’s body. “Okay”, he nodded, “that wasn’t too bad.”

Liam glanced up at him. “I could’ve died”, he complained, “she almost shot me!”

“You didn’t die”, Theo said, a small smile playing on his beautiful – what? – lips.

“It was a centimeter away!” Liam knew he sounded childish as he yelled at Theo.

Theo’s smile drifted away and he took a step in Liam’s direction, catching his eyes in the movement. Liam stared back. “I wouldn’t let you die”, he said and nothing in his facial expression made it seem like he was joking.

“You stopped me from killing. Again.”

Theo tilted his head slightly. “I just grabbed your wrist.”

“No, you stopped me”, he shook his head slowly. “You know you did.” He couldn’t take his eyes away from him. He had been millimeters from death but all he could think of now was Theo’s face half lit up in the shadows of the basement, hair glistered on his forehead and a drip of sweat running down his cheek. All he could think of was how god damn beautiful he looked with dirt covering half his body and heavy breaths was leaving his slightly parted lips after the short first.

His eyes dropped to his lips, and as a response, Theo licked them slowly, letting his lower lip rest between his teeth a little too long before letting it go, most definitely knowing what he was doing.

Liam’s heart was racing again but this time it wasn’t because he almost got shot.

“Theo-“ he started and his low, raspy voice seemed to bring the chimera back.

“We need to leave”, Theo said, but his voice sounded thick, like it was the last thing he wanted to do in that moment. Liam didn’t blame him.

He nodded as an answer, “uh, maybe behind the shelf over there. I think there’s light.”

Theo looked between the werewolf and the shelf a few times before his brows went up his forehead. “Impressive, Dunbar”, he smiled, “I think you’re right.”

Liam mentally high fived himself.

Theo leaned his ear against the shelf just before he moved it, and froze in action, head falling back in a groan. “There’s a family up there.”

“A what?” Liam glared back even if he heard exactly what he said.

“Listen”, he offered and Liam stepped up next to him. He tilted his head up to answer Theo that he was right, there was heartbeats and child laughter of a most likely completely innocent family upstairs, but before he could say anything Theo breathed out on his cheek and they were suddenly close enough to kiss.

Liam had no idea where he even got that thought, but there they stood, just centimeters apart and he could swear neither of them were listening to the upstairs family anymore. Theo’s eyes dropped to his lips, confirming what he’d been thinking.

“Okay”, Liam breathed out after a few moments of silence. Theo broke the moment once again and started walking towards the tunnels to avoid disturbing the family upstairs. Maybe the hunters knew the family upstairs or maybe they didn’t, but it didn’t seem fair to disturb them if it by any chance was the latter. 

They walked slowly and Liam had the feeling as before that none of them really wanted to leave the moment that caught them both just a few minutes ago.

“Why did you have a recording of Scott roaring?” Liam asked.

”Because”, Theo responded and held out his phone, “reasons like this. Gotten me out of trouble a lot of times. Hunters usually don’t want to mess with an alpha unprepared, because that usually means there will be a whole pack behind him.”

”So you literally recorded Scott roaring. Weird.”

Theo smiled. “But smart.”

Silence for another few moments as the beta didn’t know what to say at first, but their usually comfortable silence didn’t feel right that time. 

“You came back for me”, Liam said quietly. They had walked for a good five minutes by then. It was a complicated system of tunnels that seemed to connect to the sewers in some way.

Theo huffed like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Yeah”, he shrugged as they made a left.

“Why? You could’ve left without risking your life. You said- “ _you wouldn’t die for me._

Theo turned around and Liam almost walked right into him. “I came back for the same reason you ran after me in the hotel last night.”

It took a few moments for the younger boy to connect the dots to him following Theo down the stairs after he rushed out after not wanting to face his nightmares.

“Are you saying-“ Liam started but Theo held up his hand and a small smirk was finding its way up on his lips. _Are you saying you care about me?_

“Don’t push your luck, baby alpha”, he said, voice filled with entertainment, “that’s all you get.”

Liam looked after him as he disappeared around the next corner. He let the smile he’d been holding in form on his lips.

Yeah, he was okay with that. "Okay. Let's go to Mexico, Theo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your support on tumblr and in the comments, there's nothing better than seeing another feedback. thank you!!! love u all thanks for sharing this story with me


	7. Now, let's go to Mexico

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They talk and go to Mexico, but I promise it's more fun than it sounds ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for keeping up with me!! and thank you SO much for your comments!! I feel kinda awkward answering them but I'll try!! I really appreciate all of you!!

They went back to sleep way later than expected. Theo insisted on staying at a McDonalds before going back to the hotel and Liam tried to resist his stupid face but Theo was the one behind the wheel, so he couldn’t really say not without risking them driving off the road; which would have been very stupid considering he barely survived his last encounter with death.

As a protest, he sat quiet, refusing to look anywhere near the chimera as he ordered food at the drive-through. He pretended he wasn’t impressed that Theo guessed what he wanted from the menu at the first try and insisted he chose the worst, even though he knew he could hear the lie in his words. He ate the chicken nuggets in pretend anger.

About an hour later they dragged their feet across the red carpet in the reception, both exhausted after the long day they had. The receptionist lit up like a christmas tree when she saw Theo and Liam felt a sting of jealousy in his chest, but to his surprise Theo didn’t seem very interested in her this time. He acknowledged her, shot her a tired smile and muttered something about having a tiring day and didn’t wait for her response. Liam might have looked a little too happy with that as they passed her. He might even have shot her a mocking smirk, but only maybe.

Liam threw himself on the bed the second they entered the room. The soft hotel sheets felt amazing under his weight and he let out a long, satisfied sigh. He was never going to leave the bed ever again, or at least not until… the morning after.

His sigh turned more into a groan as he realized they had to get up way too early tomorrow. “This day was way so long”, he complained as Theo popped down on the other side of the bed.

“It was exciting”, he said, a sloppy grin on his lips.

“I almost died.” He wasn’t sure how many times you could repeat the same words in one day before it got annoying, but he was definitely going to find out.

Theo shot him an annoyed glare, his brows furrowing. “I’m not gonna respond to that.”

Liam shrugged, or at least tried to, as he at the same time tried to get his shirt off his shoulders. Embarrassingly enough, it got stuck over his head and he sat there like a child for a few moments, calming himself down before he took the easy way out; ripping the shirt apart. That would mean shirt 1, Liam 0, and he was not losing to a t-shirt after a day like that.

When it finally managed to get it over his head and down on the wooden floor, he saw Theo watching him. His head was slightly tilted and his lips were curved into a small smile, clearly showing amusement to the scene that just played out. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his body reflecting in the dim light coming from the awaken city in the window behind him. As Liam met his gaze, the chimera chose to look away. He felt a sting of disappointment in his chest.

Theo fumbled with the hem of his shirt and Liam didn’t mean to look. He was just going to take a quick, innocent glance but he couldn’t find the strength, nor the will, to advert his eyes away. Liam wasn’t sure if he was seeing in slow-motion or if Theo was deliberately moving slow when he lifted his shirt, his defined, well trained body casting a shadow on the wall behind them. His abs were defined by the shadows from the lights outside, and Liam felt his mouth run dry.

It was stupid, he knew that; he knew he shouldn’t be watching, but it was something in the way Theo moved as he got the shirt over his head made Liam feel hot; too hot. A part of him feared Theo could sense what he was feeling even though he wasn’t entirely sure himself of what that feeling was.

As he too let his shirt fall from his hands onto the floor, Liam noticed he had his eyes closed. His pinkish lips were slightly parted and he was breathing just as heavy as he was. Liam let his eyes drop down his exposed torso, wetting the inside of his lips with his tongue. When he returned his gaze up, Theo was looking at him. His eyes weren’t mocking, not laughing at him as he feared for a split moment of a second.

They were curious, dark, soft. Liam wanted to say something – anything – but he couldn’t form any words fitting the situation. He almost thought he was imagining it as a slightly darker shade rose Theo’s cheeks. Was he blushing? Liam made a mental note to store that frame, of him sitting with the big window, San Diego showing its beauty behind him while the lights threw a beautiful, dark shadow across half of Theo’s nude torso and a slight blush rose on his face. He looked absolutely beautiful.

Liam swallowed. His throat felt dry and it wasn’t helping at all as he saw Theo’s glimmering eyes drop down to his lips. He sucked in his lower lip as an automatic, nervous response. He could swear he heart the chimera’s breath hitch.

Theo cared about him. Theo rushed to his defense, knowing that there was a lethal wolfsbane bullet that could as well has gone through his body. He cared, and it made Liam feel something that wasn’t anger, confusion or frustration which was all he felt nowadays; it made him feel safe.

Liam didn’t even realize he was reaching out before he made contact with Theo’s skin. He felt as hot as he was as he slowly wrapped his fingers around his wrists. He expected him to pull his arm back or drop a snarky comment, but he just watched him in silence, heartbeat steady but fast, as Liam turned his arm around. He ran his thumb around the soft, thin skin just below his hand, over his most visible vain. He heard Theo breathe in heavily and for some reason it made him wonder what other reactions he could get from Theo. What was he thinking?

A normal Theo response to any type of closure was to pull away, hide or cover it up by sarcasm and a snarky comment, but as Liam met his eyes now, there was no trace of that. He let him hold his wrist in a steady grip, thumb still running up and down below his hand.

“You have a mole here” Liam whispered, voice low and huskier than he expected. He had no idea why he had reached out to touch him, he just followed the overwhelming feeling that hit him so hard he couldn’t ignore it. He knew he sounded like an idiot but his stupid brain decided he had to say anything.

The stupid comment made Theo visibly relax and he let out a genuine laugh. It was a good, beautiful sound. Liam let go of his wrist and a slight quiver ran down his spine at the loss of contact.

He expected Theo to pull away and break the moment, but instead he reached out – slowly, almost like he was hesitating; trying to convince himself not to pull back. He let the outside of his index finger ever so slightly run down Liam’s upper arm and he shivered involuntary. Theo definitely noticed considered the begin of a smile forming in the corner of his lips.

He stopped his way down just above his elbow. “You have one here”, he said, the curve of his lips growing.

Liam let out the breath he’d been holding since Theo’s finger touched his arm and chuckled softly. This was stupid, idiotic and made him _feel._ He couldn’t figure out exactly what he was feeling, but it was something and it felt good, and by the looks of it; Theo thought so as well.

Someone knocked at the door.

Theo broke the contact with his arm immediately and got up from the bed in less than a second. “Someone’s knocking”, he said and his comment was so unnecessary Liam couldn’t stop the laugh bubbling up inside of him.

“I can hear that, genius”, he grinned. “Do you wanna do the honors?”

It was only the room service, reminding them they had to be out of their room by 11am the day after. It was a stupid reminder, Liam thought, they knew that already. The lady left as soon as she appeared, and neither of them said another word as they brushed their teeth and rolled themselves up in their own blanket.

There was nothing to say, anyways.

 

-

 

They were driving. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in sight and the temperature was hot enough for Theo to put on full AC the second he got in the driver seat. It was already reeking of sweat. Gross.

Liam groaned loudly, leaning his head back against the headrest as he considered what Theo just had told him.

“Are you sure?” he asked, throwing a pleading glance at the chimera.

Theo met his gaze briefly. “Yes, idiot.”

He looked out through the window, the beautiful south California wilderness rushing past them as they were driving a bit over the speed limit. The trees were big, green and reaching out as far as his eyes could reach and Liam felt a sudden urge to just go out there and run.

But instead of fulfilling his dreams, he pulled up his phone from his pocket, scrolling down his contacts. He hesitated longer than he should have, because he got a slightly annoyed glare from the seat next to him.

Okay. He could do this, what’s the worst that could happen? He’d be thrown out of the pack and live the rest of his days as an omega? Maybe.

Theo reached over the car and pressed the call button for him and as the signal started to echo through the car there was no going back. He put the phone against his ear. It took about four signals, then the familiar voice of his alpha was heard from the other end.

“Liam!” Scott cheered.

“Hi Scott”, he said, already feeling shamed, “how’s college?”

He imagined Scott shrugging at the question. “Good, super stressful but good. A lot of nice people, I think I’m fitting in good!” Liam smiled at the excitement in Scott’s voice. “How’s Mexico?”

“Oh, we haven’t reached the border – what?” Liam froze in his seat. Okay, what was a good excuse? He was joking? He was just seeing how Scott would react? He was-

“Liam”, Scott sighed, “do you really think neither my girlfriend or my mum would tell me? Or my stepdad?”

Theo was grinning in the driver seat. His eyes were set on the road in front of them, but he was clearly listening in on the call.

“Are you mad at me?” Liam mumbled and he felt like a child disobeying a curfew and having to face his parents.

Scott almost chuckled at the other end and a feeling of relief filled Liam’s veins. “No, I’m not mad, Liam. It’s just, what if something happened and I’m not there?”

“That’s the thing”, he explained in a rush, “I don’t want you to drop everything and get here. I can handle it, you know.”

“I know you can handle it”, Scott assured him and he felt like a proud child getting an A on a paper. It was remotely embarrassing. “But what if you went missing in Mexico and I didn’t even know you were out of town? We wouldn’t get there in time to save you.”

Liam sighed. “Yeah, I know. I just thought I could do it.”

“And you can”, Scott repeated, his voice soft and reassuring. “How far have you gotten? Do you know anything new about the hunter group?”

He shook his head as a response and it took a moment before he realized Scott couldn’t see it. “We’ll reach the border in an hour. We walked into a couple yesterday, but it turned out fine. The bullet missed me.”

A short moment of silence, then Scott exclaimed, voice filled with worry, “the bullet? Liam, what the hell?”

Maybe he said too much. “We were at the zoo- “

“Weren’t you going to Mexico?”

“- and we met this couple who kidnapped me- “

“They did what?!”

“- and almost shot me with a wolfsbane bullet. But it missed! It missed.”

Scott groaned loudly from the other side of the line and Liam felt quite ashamed that he didn’t tell his alpha about any of this, but he was happy Scott hadn’t kicked him out or anything yet.

“Oh my god, Liam! You should’ve told me!”

Liam pouted and looked over at Theo for support, but the chimera just kept grinning and kept driving like he had nothing to add to the conversation.

“I couldn’t! I was kidnapped. But I solved it, it worked out great. No one died, everyone lives.”

He knew Scott had this slightly annoyed, but slightly proud expression on his face, the same one he had every time Liam had done something and gotten away with his life. “Okay, and Mason? Was he kidnapped as well?

Liam threw Theo a short look, and this time he got one back. Theo shrugged. “Mason?” Liam asked the alpha.

“Yeah, mum said you were off with your best friend. I’m happy you brought him along.”

Theo was on the edge of a full-on laughter and Liam gave him the most murderous look he could possibly make, but it only seemed to make it worse. “Uh, Scott… I’m not here with Mason”, he explained carefully.

Scott seemed like he was thinking about it for a moment, “okay, then who’s your best friend?”

He let out a long sigh, considering just ending the call and throwing his phone out the window so he didn’t have to have this conversation. Ever. “Mason, but I’m not here with- he’s not my best- I’m here with Theo.”

The silence that followed was terrifying and Liam tried to remember all the packs in the states around them, where could he flee when Scott had his ass kicked out?

“Raeken?” Scott asked, dumbfounded.

“You know another?” Theo shouted from the driver seat.

Scott groaned loudly, but it was a good sign he hadn’t ended the call right there and blocked Liam’s number. Maybe he was safe after all? “Maybe mum wasn’t being sarcastic... can never tell...” A short paus. “Hi, Theo, by the way. Okay, this is cool. It’s great. You two work great together, right?” He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.

“Absoutely”, Liam agreed right away, “he saved me from the hunters.” He would have definitely been able to get out anyways since the chains couldn’t hold him, but Scott didn’t need to know that.

“I’ll be his prince in shining armor”, Theo promised.

Scott snorted at them. “Fine. But Liam seriously, I need updates. And update your pack.” _Your pack._

“I will. Sorry, Scott.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I just get worried, you know? And if Theo holds you hostage, text me a lemon emoji. That means Theo-danger, alright?”

Theo huffed out a short laugh, looking slightly offended from the drivers seat. “I can hear you, you know.”

Scott ignored him, thankfully. “Tell Theo he better not make me regret trusting him with you, alright?”

“Yeah, alright”, Liam breathed, “I’ll update you as soon as we’re over the border.”

Scott agreed with that. “Yep, you better. Or I will send the rest to get you home.”

“Noted.”

They ended the call with an exchange of slightly awkward good bye’s and Liam felt a big stone fall from his heart. It felt good to tell someone about this, someone he trusted and someone who trusted him as well. He was scared of fucking things up with Scott, especially since he couldn’t understand how he could have forgiven him for almost killing him.

“That went well”, Theo said slowly and threw him a smirk in the rear mirror.

“It could have been worse”, Liam nodded, “I got a few updates from Argent this morning as well, so we have a pretty good idea of where we’re going.”

He earned a short not as an answer and Theo waved for him to continue.

“They were last seen in an abandoned warehouse outside of Caborca, north Mexico. Argent suggested we tried talking to the elders, if they were present. If not, just take a loot, steal what we can and get the hell out of there.”

“So, dangerous youngsters?” Theo smirked, “I think we can take them, baby alpha.”

Liam rolled his eyes at his stupid remark. “Apparently, they train professional assassins and hunters, but sure, you go ahead while I watch.”

“Coward”, he mumbled, “but fine. We’ll do it your way.”

They reached the border about two hours later, and it all went as smooth as it could have. There was a clear change in nature and society as soon as they passed the border, but it didn’t seem to worry the chimera. He was whistling along to the songs on the radio and Liam suspected he actually knew every single song. Knowing Theo spent most of his free time in his car, it didn’t surprise him.

It was quite the boring trip, around a 6-hour drive from San Diego to Caborca and it was filled with nothing else than Theo singing along, with a surprisingly good voice, though, and making snack stops and different fast food chains. Liam found himself more interested in his singing than his food. He had no idea and he could never had guessed the chimera actually had a good voice. It was both soft and rough at the same time and Liam wanted to lower the volume just so he could hear a little better, but there was no way he was going to give Theo that satisfaction and boost in confidence.

He slept the last hour and woke up by Theo poking him harshly on the arm. He woke up just in time to hear a shotgun loading, and opened his eyes just in time to meet his drivers; wide opened and surprised.

And then someone shot Theo in the chest.


	8. Araya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar face take Liam and Theo hostage, but she might sit on more information than she wants to let on about the current threat of Liam's life and the reason Theo is able to fully shift into a wolf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long chapter! This is basically just PLOT. Plot, plot with a little more plot. What you learn in this chapter might not be canon, but it will play a big part in this story moving forward!

Liam was barely aware of the loud, high-pitched _no!_ he yelled as Theo flew back against his seat, eyes wide open in a mix of surprise and shock. His hands were immediately covering the wound. Thick, red blood slipped through his shaking fingers.

Liam was out of his seat and kicked the door open in one motion, rolling onto the ground. As he looked up, his eyes were bright yellow and deep growl rose from the back of his throat. He looked around with a quick motion of his head, counting only four attackers. One, an old lady, in front of the car – the one who shot Theo – a man next to the driver’s seat and two men in front of Liam.

As he got up on his feet from the roll out of his car, Liam kicked out his leg fast. Fast enough to surprise the person next to him, and strong enough to get his knees to fail him. One hard punch later and he was down, unconscious.

Theo too had dragged himself out of the car, his face pulled in a grimace showing just how badly it hurt. He was bleeding red, thank god for that. No wolfsbane. The hunter – he guessed – next to Theo loaded his gun again, and Liam got up from the ground fast.

He hurled himself over the hood of the car and just managed to push the man out of the way before the bullet fired. It hit the side of Theo’s car, and the casing from the bullet rolled down in front of it.

Liam froze suddenly. A skull. Why was that important? Where had he seen this before? He looked up at the older woman, the woman who shot Theo, and tried to put her face together with a name but he couldn’t. And god, it annoyed him. He _knew_ he was supposed to know this.

She had a calm meaner and something that was supposed to look like a smile, but it showed no warmth, was on her lips. Her eyes were cold as stone.

Definitely hunters.

Wait… She loaded her gun.

“Wait!” Liam yelled, throwing himself in front of Theo, covering him from her range, “wait, wait, wait.” He was panting, filled with stress, anger and adrenaline. His fight instinct was gnawing on the inside, wanting to take down the threat in front of him as soon as possible, to get him and Theo out safe.

She didn’t lower her gun, but one of her brows raised in a questionable manner and Liam took it as being allowed to continue. “Araya”, he said, knowing fully well his breath was hitching and his voice thick with anger. _The sun, the moon, the truth._ He glanced down at Theo who met his gaze with an almost desperate look. Liam swallowed the saliva forming in his mouth. “Araya Calavera, right?” he nodded, “do you know who I am?”

She tilted hear head. “Sí. Why do you think we have not shot you yet?”

He nodded frantically, “okay, okay. Good. Uh, you can’t kill him. You follow the code, right? What color is his eyes, Theo- Theo. Show your eyes.”

Theo grunted, hovering himself up in a sitting position, back against the car, shining his yellow eyes up at the old hunter. She didn’t look impressed.

“I know of Theo Raeken’s eyes, Liam, and I also know of his actions. His eyes don’t fool me.”

 _Fuck._ Okay, new tactic. “Alright, but that was a normal bullet, right? You know that won’t kill him.”

She nodded. Obviously, her nod said. If course she knew that, what a stupid statement. “So you don’t want him dead”, Liam concluded. He still hadn’t moved away, he was covering Theo’s body with his own from whoever was going to try and get a shot on him. Theo’s heartbeat was starting to get just a little bit steadier than before. He was starting to heal. Slower than Liam would have, but it was something. He wasn’t dying.

“No”, she confirmed, “but we bring the Chimera with us.”

Liam held out his hands. “Then I’m coming too. Or I’m calling Chris Argent, he’s basically Scott’s dad now, you know. He won’t be too happy.”

“No”, she waved at one of her companions who started to move towards the two. Liam growled at him, a warning he thankfully took seriously and slowed his step, glancing over at his boss. “You can’t take two teenage boys?” she said, her voice was neither teasing or accusing, just questioning.

“I don’t want to accidentally kill the beta.”

Liam huffed out a stiff laugh. “I think it’s you who should be afraid.”

Araya Calavera gave up a sigh and seemed to give in to what Liam had suggested a moment before. She gave him a confirming nod. “Come with us. Let us take him, beta.”

Liam hesitated, meeting Theo’s gaze. His nose as wrinkled and his face still had pain written all over it. Despite this, he forced himself up on his feet, gritting his teeth. “Fine”, he spat.

“You won’t kill him?” Liam asked her, not finding it important to cover the worry in his voice.

She raised both her brows now. “Not if he’s innocent.”

Liam met Theo’s eyes and hoped he could read his mind. _I think you’re fucked._

_-_

It was weird, sitting on a chair with his hands crossed over his lap like a good little boy as Theo was tied to the ground. His wrists were put behind him, chained to the ground with something that looked at least five times stronger than what the hunters from the day before had used on Liam. Tangled with the chains was cables, leading from Theo’s wrists to the machine standing a few meters away. Behind it, a strong built man was standing.

“This is unnecessary”, Liam tried again and gained a good amount death glares from three of the hunters. Except for Araya, there was four other hunters in the room with them.

They were in a basement not long from where they had been attacked, and Liam was getting extremely tired of getting caught. Even if they weren’t going to hurt him, knowing Theo was probably about to get killed did get on his nerves.

“We’re just trying to resolve some… knots”, Araya told him, probably for the tenth time in the thirty minutes they had been there.

“You know what he did, otherwise you would’ve had caught him.”

Theo shot him a glare, definitely telling him to shut it before he said something stupid.

Araya nodded slowly. “Our contacts at the border let us know Raeken was crossing, so we took our chance.”

“I guessed that much”, Liam nodded. He didn’t, actually, think that much. But he could pretend. “But I meant you know what he did before.”

A sigh left Araya’s lips. “What you creatures do to each other is none of our business”, she said slowly, not breaking eye contact. “but when innocent people get in the way…”

“Goes against the code”, Liam nodded, “yeah, I get that. But do you really have to hurt him? You haven’t even tried asking.”

Araya looked over at Theo who shot her a fake grin, “I’m an open book, old lady”, he spat.

The old hunter didn’t look impressed. Liam hadn’t seen a genuine nice expression on her face since they met. “I bet”, she replied and gave the man at the machine a short glance. Apparently, he read her mind and pressed a button on the keyboard in front of him.

Theo winced in pain, but it didn’t seem too bad. Liam knew they weren’t torturing him to hurt him, but to keep the wound in his chest from healing; that was where most of the danger lied. If he didn’t have the strength to heal himself he could die.

“Look, we could get out of here any moment if we wanted”, Liam tried again, but before he could continue Theo interrupted.

“Oh please, tell her your incredible plan, I would love to hear it too!” His voice was dripping with sarcasm and inner anger and Liam chose to ignore the fight he tried to start.

Araya ignored it as well, crossing her arms over her chest. “We know about the dread doctors and what they did to the other youths.”

“The failures”, Theo mumbled, keeping his head high, making sure nothing in his body language showed defeat.

The hunter nodded. “Yes. That’s not why you’re here.”

He grunted, shifting his legs slightly. “You want to know about my sister”, he clenched his jaw. His voice was heavy, showing clearly it was something he was not going to talk details about.

“Why would you want to know that?” Liam was quick to ask and he realized he was just asking stupid questions to stall. He needed to come up with something, or they would kill him if he told them he left her in the water to die.

Araya seemed to come to the same conclusion as he did. “I’m not asking you the questions here, Liam. I might not be here to hurt you but I can change my mind.”

Something in her cold voice left him quiet, glancing over at Theo again. Theo met his eyes, but they were for once unreadable. He could hear the increase in electricity echoing through his ears, but the chimera just held his eyes steadily locked with Liam’s and didn’t move more than a muscle.

“Tell us about your sister”, Araya said to him.

Theo finally broke his eyes from Liam’s, who could see chimera clenching his jaw to hide the strike of pain that hit him.

“I killed her”, he spat at her, yellow, shining eyes filled with anger. “Is that what you want to hear?”

She tilted her head and waved to the guy next to the panel to turn of the electricity. He did, and Theo’s body visibly relaxed. “No, I want the truth.” She walked towards him slowly, almost like a predator stalking it’s pray.

“It is the truth”, he growled, “I stole her god damn heart too. You want the details? You want me to tell you how her eyes looked at me? How her voice sounded? You might as well kill me now.” He was spitting the words out from gritted teeth and Liam could swear there was actual fire in his eyes.

But the Calavera leader didn’t budge, didn’t look bothered by his comments. “No”, she said again, “the truth.”

Theo exanimated her face for a long while, long enough to make Liam believe he wasn’t going to answer her. After what seemed like minutes, he finally took a breath. “They told me I had to, so I did.”

“The dread doctors”, she confirmed to herself, “what did they say?”

Theo looked like he considered killing himself instead of waiting to get killed. “They told me I needed someone else’s heart.”

She waved for him to continue and. Liam wished he could call Scott.

“They said it had to be family”, Theo continued, and Liam could both see and hear the exact moment his voice changed from the strangled, pained tone to the cold, careless voice he was so good at faking. He was protecting himself from the memory, face blank.

“And you killed her?” Araya asked, taking a step towards him. Theo looked light back at her.

“Not directly”, he said steadily, “she broke her leg falling into the creek. I didn’t help her up and she froze to death.”

Araya nodded, her finger scratching her lower lip like she was thinking about something. Her face showed that she wasn’t too happy about it, but Liam couldn’t work out what he was missing. Theo was telling them the truth, but she didn’t seem to either accept or like what she heard; but not in the _you-killed-an-innocent-now-you-die_ way, but more of a _this-is-not-what-I-expected_ kind of way.

“What is it you want to know?” Liam asked carefully, glancing over at Theo. His cold face relaxed a bit when he met his gaze, like he was trying to ask Liam if he did the right thing by answering her questions.

Araya didn’t answer right away, but seemed to inspect every aspect of Theo’s face. “I want to know”, she said slowly, “the reason why he can transform.”

He couldn’t help but stare at her, a drop of anger slipping through his not so strong defense. “Are you actually insane?” he growled at her, slowly getting up from his chair. The men closest to the door out from the basement they were in moved their hands down towards their weapons. She waved them off. “You _shot_ him, to find out why he can shift? Are you insane?”

Theo laughed shortly from his place on the floor. He had a sad smile on his lips. “No, Liam. She wants to know why I can fully shift.”

Now it was him Liam had to stare at, because he didn’t understand what the hell was going on. “What do you mean _fully shift?”_

Theo shrugged. “To a wolf”, he bit out.

“Excuse me?” Liam’s voice was dangerously low. He had heard Scott – or maybe Stiles? – mention it before but he thought it was a joke. There was no way that was true, Theo wasn’t even an alpha. He had never been one, he wasn’t even entirely supernatural, or a werewolf!

Theo looked like he wanted to melt through the floor. “Another time?” he groaned.

“You can fully shift? Like actually turn yourself into a wolf? Are you serious?”

Theo let his head fall back. “Another time, Liam!” He raised his head enough to look at the oldest hunter. “What do you want to know?”

She, too, ignored Liam’s protests. What the actual hell? He decided to keep his voice down, the conversation was probably about to get a lot more interesting than his babbling.

“How”, she said, but it wasn’t a question. She didn’t expect him to know.

Theo shrugged again. “I wouldn’t know”, he said, voice steady. “My _creators_ didn’t chit chat very much.”

“They used your dead sisters heart to make you a chimera. Part wolf, part coyote, correct?”

Theo nodded once.

“Werecoyotes' tend to be able to access their inner animal way easier than wolf’s do, and their predatory instincts seem to blend together with their human emotions. It’s easier to trig a coyote than it is to trigger someone’s wolf.” She let her eyes run over the room, making sure everyone was listening to her. “Coyote’s aren’t as social as wolves. They don’t live in big packs, they don’t have to depend on others to survive.”

“A lone wolf never makes it on his own”, Liam said slowly trying to connect her information to Theo’s situation.

The Calavera leader nodded towards him, confirming his words. “But a coyote does. A wolf doesn’t have to have all their senses heightened all the time in case of danger; they are bigger and rely on safety in numbers. A coyote, however, never let its guard down; it’s in their nature. Therefore, it’s easier for werecoyotes to access their wild side, making them more prone to fully shift than wolves.”

Theo was listening now too, head slightly tilted to the right and his face told Liam he was taking in every word Araya was saying.

“So it isn’t weird that he can shift?” Liam tried.

“My shift isn’t a coyote”, Theo mumbled, “it’s a wolf.”

Araya took a few stops towards him again. “Exactly. You’re not an alpha, you’re not a werewolf, but you can take the shape of a wolf. You go against everything we know.”

“You can’t kill him because of that”, Liam pointed out. Sure, they could, but they most definitely should not or Liam wasn’t going to be able to control his actions.

The hunter smiled, but once again it was dark; untrustable. “We don’t blame a manipulated nine-year-old human boy for the death of his sister”, she said slowly, making sure there was no misunderstanding in her meaning. “It’s not our thing to judge, it’s up to your law enforcement.” She met Liam’s eyes. “But now, we have no idea what he is, why he is this way or why he has the ability to fully shift.”

“Why did Derek?” Liam asked her.

“Derek Hale, and every other confirmed case of a full shift, happened because of a life changing moment. Something that touched the alpha wolf – or the coyote – so deeply it changed their inner predator.”

“So Derek shifted because he saved his sister?” Liam had heard the story.

She shook her head. “No, Derek shifted because he was ready to die and give up his alpha status for his sister. It triggered his wolf and it began to change him. If he had gone back to his old, solo way of living, the shift would not have happened. It changed his personality, his view of life, pack, friends and family. It changed his wolf.”

“And Malia shifted because…?”

Araya let out a sigh. “Malia Hale shifted because she believed she caused the death of her family. She could not contain the pain and guilt, and as a coyote her wild instincts took control before her human side could process the pain. It made her shift, and she stayed that way to be able to cope.” She looked over at Liam, meeting his questioning gaze. “Another known case is Derek’s mother, Talia Hale. She’s a case of pure power.”

This time, Theo interrupted her. “There’s no pattern”, he said, annoyance filling his voice, “and it doesn’t get me answers.”

“The Hale family have a big number of full shifts in their history, dormant genes helping both Talia and Derek. But just as true alphas don't have to steal their power, the full shift isn't always genetic. The pattern is changing your predator for good. If it's in your genes it will give you a push, and if it's not, the trigger needs to be bigger, more powerful."

“Okay, good to have that cleared”, The rolled his eyes, “doesn’t give me anything.”

“Isn’t your sister’s death a life changing event?” Liam dared to address.

“Theo was neither a wolf or coyote at that point”, Araya reminded him. “You can’t change your inner predator if you don’t have one.”

Liam let his arms fall to his side with a groan. “Fine. We have no explanation, what did you expect? Why chain him to the floor and shoot him?”

Her expression became stone cold again. “Because I need to know what triggered his shift.”

“Maybe it was built in”, Liam tried, “I mean, modified. If the dread doctors turned him into a chimera, why couldn’t they turn him into a full wolf too?”

Araya shook her head. “I doubt it”, she said, but her voice was thoughtful. “The doctors crossed every line we thought we drew, but it doesn’t make any sense.”

“Neither does Theo walking over mountain ash like it’s salt.”

“Wrong”, Araya said, “Theo was created-“

“You do know I’m sitting right here?” Theo said, brows raised. “You don’t need to talk about me like I didn’t exist.”

She met his searching eyes. “You were created,” she corrected herself dryly, “but the full shift isn’t. The full shift is born inside the animal part of you. It can’t be created, even if they put it in your genes.”

Theo bit the inside of his lip. “So you suggest something happened to me to trigger the wolf part of me, not the coyote?”

She confirmed his thought with a short nod. “Yes. I don’t know if you’re keeping something from us or if the memory was taken away from you, but something strong enough to trigger your wolf enough to fully shift, despite the coyote in you. Something strong enough to take over completely.”

Theo looked over at Liam, his eyes revealing the confusion he was feeling. He looked lost, like this was something he had never thought about before, something he didn’t want to think about.

“And this situation”, Liam said, voice low and slow, “this trigger, is why you shot him? Why you’re keeping him here?”

Araya didn’t say anything, but her face gave away her answer anyways. She seemed to realize this as well as she let out a sigh and replied. “We need to know this trigger wasn’t connected to hurting innocents.”

 

-

 

It had been an hour, maybe two, since Araya Calavera revealed the real reason why Theo was sitting chained in front of them, back against the cold, stone wall of the small basement they were positioned in. There was something with hunters and basements – the isolated locations seemed to be their favorites to work from.

Liam couldn’t do anything as the electricity flowed between the cables of the machine to Theo’s helpless body. He was reeking of sweat and his hair was glistered to his forehead, his breathing heavy and pained. The wound in his chest had seemed to heal good as they had their conversation, but Liam could see if was still hurting him.

Araya had kept asking the same question over and over again, her patience not rubbing as Theo kept replying the same sentence over and over again; _I don’t know._

He didn’t know what triggered his full shift.

Liam had been asked to leave at least ten times, but he refused. He was not going to leave someone who needed him alone with a group of hunters. Every time he even considered maybe it was best to go, his wolf was strongly against that idea; you don’t leave your wounded pack behind.

He knew they were probably going to sit there all day until the hunter leader got what she wanted. He also knew that Theo wasn’t going to be able to handle this much longer. The problem was, Theo wasn’t lying. He had seen the chimera lie in all kinds of situation, and he was good at it. He was good at faking emotions, faking tears and faking the truth, but this was different. The real desperation in his eyes was starting to show and Liam felt a spike of pain run down his spine every time he looked at him with those eyes. Theo wasn’t lying.

“How am I supposed to remember if they took my god damn memory?” Theo was growling at her. It was the fourth time he had made that point in the last fifteen minutes.

Araya didn’t reply to that, neither had she the past three times. She was getting more and more irritated, that was clear, and Liam had to think of something fast.

They had reached the conclusion that Theo was sixteen when he fully shifted the first time, and Theo remembered it as waking up one day and feeling a type of power he had never felt before. It didn’t take long before he mastered the ability; he had all the time in the world, as he had explained through gritted teeth.

Liam had threatened to call Scott, but the hunter behind the electricity machine barked back that if he did so, Theo would be dead. So he didn’t.

Araya was standing an inch from Theo’s face, ready to ask him again, as a loud bang was heard from outside and voices suddenly filled the corridor outside. The hunter straightened her back and sent a glance to the hunters on her sides. They loaded their guns.

Liam froze as well, considering if it would be totally childish of him to hide behind the chair or if was acceptable in that moment. He wasn’t ready to face more danger; his whole body was tired, drained from power after watching Theo hurting for the past hour and not being able to do anything about it.

In through the thick, concrete door, another woman walked in. She was tall, dark long hair hanging over her chest. She was wearing a fake leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans. He couldn’t see it, but he could smell the gun on her. It had recently fired and reeked of gun powder.

“Araya”, she greeted, and the older hunter seemed to recognize her. She relaxed slightly but didn’t order her men to take down their weapons.

“Amelia”, Araya nodded towards her, “what brings you here uninvited?” It didn’t sound like a warning, but Liam knew it was.

He met the woman’s – Amelia – eyes and froze. Fear mixed with the shock hit him in the chest with such power he almost lost his breath. Without a second thought he got up from his chair. _Amelia._ It was the woman from the woods him and Theo had seen when they spied on the hunters in Beacon Hills.

She was here.

Amelia seemed just as surprised as he was, mouth wide open as she stared at Liam. He didn’t know how much time passed before she seemed to get it together, closing her mouth and turning her eyes back to Araya. There was a completely different mood in the room now and he wasn’t the only one who noticed.

Liam looked over at Theo who had straightened his back, face blank. Clearly, he had made the same connection Liam had.

“I was told”, Amelia began, voice slow as she couldn’t decide whether to look at Araya or him. “I was told you had some information I need…” She settled at Liam. “But I was wrong. I need to leave.”

Amelia turned around and left quicker than Liam thought a human could move. No one broke the silence for what seemed like minutes. Only when before her foot steps were long gone, Liam dared to slowly turn towards Theo. He was already looking at him.

Araya was the first one to speak. “Why are you really here?” she asked, looking at the beta for answers.

“Uh”, Liam mumbled, “her, I think. Amelia.”

The old hunter seemed to be thrown off guard and this was the first time he had sensed any weakness from her. “The Pereira’s.”

Liam nodded slowly. “Yeah. They want me dead so we came here to gather information, and get out of Beacon Hills. Do you know them?”

She blinked at him. “This town is their area”, she said, “she will be back. If they want you dead, you better run faster than this.” She seemed to consider something for a second and then turned to the hunter closest to her. “Let him go.”

Theo’s head flew up. “What?”

“The Pereira’s aren’t known for their friendly killing methods, and if they’re after you I want no part of it. It will ruin my family’s reputation and it’s a risk I’m not willing to take.”

Theo got up on his feet slowly as the hunter released him from the chains. Liam expected him to attack, but he just stood there. “I wasn’t lying when I said I don’t know why I can full shift.”

Araya nodded, hesitating before saying, “When we found out about your full shift, it was the Pereira’s we consulted with.”

Liam let out a heavy sigh. “They want him dead too?”

She shook her head. “No, they want him strapped to a table. They want him alive as they dig into his head to figure out how it works.”

Theo clenched his jaws. “Sounds like a lovely family.”

His snarky comment gained a smirk from the hunter. “They are.” She met Liam’s searching look. “They will find you”, she warned him, “no matter how good you hide.”

“Sounds comforting”, Theo snorted.

“They will find you”, she said again, “use it to your advantage. Don’t let them surprise you.”

Liam nodded. A part of him wanted to wolf out and yell and claw at her for the hours of torture she had put Theo through, but all he could get out was a “thank you.”

She waved away his comment, watching as Theo refused Liam’s helping hand, making his way over the dust-filled floor towards the door. He disappeared out without looking back and Liam was just about to follow his steps when Araya grabbed his arm.

He froze, but her eyes showed some type of softness he hadn’t seen in her cold behavior before. “Don’t let him slip up”, she warned him.

“Theo?”

“Every time we increased the power of electricity”, she explained slowly, voice low enough for only Liam to hear, “he looked at you for comfort. You anchor him.”

Liam stared at her, heart pounding in his chest. “What?”

“And Liam, find out what happened to him before they do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for sticking with me! Next chapter will be a lil more fun, I promise!


	9. Panic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mason shows what it means to be someone's best friend and Theo doesn't really know what's going on.
> 
> TW: panic attacks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: a lil smutty & panic attacks (but probably not in the way you're thinking).
> 
> I just had this idea in my mind and I had to get it out. I hope you'll like this! It was very emotional for me to write.

Theo wasn’t having any of Liam’s bullshit as they left the old building where Araya Calavera had kept Theo hostage.

“Theo, can you just wait?!” Liam was almost struggling to keep up. He was walking almost two meters behind the chimera, following his smell of anxiety and anger. Theo was so good at hiding his emotions so the intense scent covering him was something he didn’t even know Theo was capable of feeling.

Theo spun around in a heartbeat and Liam almost bumped right into him. “No, I can’t wait”, he growled, eyes flaring gold at him. “I _can’t.”_

Liam didn’t know what to say, he gaped like a fish out of water at Theo’s wild expression. The otherwise so calm and collected boy was nowhere to be seen.

“You should have left a long time ago”, Theo continued, running his fingers through his sweaty hair, getting it out of his eyes. “Why the hell did you stay?”

He didn’t know what else to do but to stare at him. What a stupid question. “Why do you think?” Liam countered, meeting his searching eyes. Theo looked angry, down right _pissed._ He looked like he was going to tear apart the next person who came in sight.

“Because you’re a fucking idiot?”

Liam didn’t want to argue with that because he felt, in fact, like an idiot for sitting there for hours without doing anything to get them out. “Did you actually think I’d leave you alone with hunters? They could’ve killed you!”

“They could’ve killed you too”, Theo growled back, “you could’ve left, and Amelia would never had seen you and you could have been safe!”

“I wouldn’t leave you behind”, Liam yelled at him now, throwing his hands up in the air like he was making a very important point. Which he was.

“You’re a god damn idiot”, Theo yelled back, “you could have been long gone and safe now, not standing here waiting for someone to run a wolfsbane bullet through your stupid head!”

“I don’t want to be safe if I’m not with you!” Liam shot back, only realizing what he said after the words left his lips. He really had to work on thinking before he spoke.

Theo’s heart skipped one, or maybe five, beats and his breath hitched, like he was going to say something but the words got stuck in his throat. They stared at each other.

Liam felt the panic raise in his chest as Theo didn’t respond. “I mean”, he started, voice high pitched, scared Theo might run off and he’d be all alone in a foreign country, “I mean, this is a two-man mission”, he tried to save the situation.

He glanced up at Theo and just then realized the angry expression he had been carrying just a few moments ago was gone with the wind. Instead, his eyes were soft, lips slightly parted at he looked at Liam. He looked so thoroughly over every inch of his face that Liam suspected he was searching for any clues that he might be lying. He wouldn’t find any.

“Really?” Theo said after a while of – what Liam thought – uncomfortable silence.

He hesitated, considering lying to save his ass, but there was no point as the chimera could probably both hear and see the lie on his face. “Yeah”, Liam said, voice breaking. He coughed. “Yeah, but don’t…” He silently begged him not to make a scene out of it.

Theo smiled at him, a gentle smile, and held his hands before his face like he was protecting himself. “I won’t”, he said. His heartbeat had slowed to the steady rhythm Liam was used to hearing.

Liam nodded. “Okay.”

“Alright”, Theo said slowly, “maybe we should get back to the car, figure out what we should do next.”

Without any other conversation, they made their way down the dirt road, towards where their car had been pulled over by the Calaveras’. Theo was walking slow now but kept a steady pace. Liam dared to glance over at him. The light from a nearby building was reflecting on his skin and despite sitting through hours of torture, he looked as beautiful as ever. Messy, still hurting and reeking of sweat; but still beautiful. Liam didn’t know what that meant.

 _You anchor him._ Araya Calavera’s words echoed in his head. _You anchor him._

-

 

This time, they decided to sleep in the car. After the old lady’s warning neither of them felt like checking in on a hotel. Theo drove around in circles around two blocks, making absolutely sure no one was following them, before making a quick left turn onto a road leading into the desert of north Mexico. There was a small forest showing itself a few kilometers in, and Theo decided without consulting with Liam that it was a perfect place to get some sleep.

And Theo definitely needed it.

He didn’t complain once and drove without pulling one face to let on the pain he was feeling, but Liam could see how drained and exhausted he was; every time he blinked it seemed like took extra energy to open his eyes again.

“Should someone keep watch?” Liam asked hesitantly.

Theo shook his head. “No, or unless you want to?”

“No thank you”, Liam breathed out in relief. He too felt like an exhausted wreck. Minus the shot in the chest and hours of electricity going through his body.

“You want the backseat?” Theo asked him and Liam expected him to have a mocking smile on his lips to show that he was joking, but he had the same soft expression as before. Maybe he was too tired to argue.

Liam wanted to say yes, _badly,_ but Theo needed the sleep more than he did after all he’d been through today. “No, you can have it. I’m very comfortable here.”

Theo eyed him suspiciously. “I know that’s a lie but I’m gonna go with it”, he rolled his eyes, crawling over the seat to get over to the backseat. He reached under the seat to grab a blanket he had underneath. He tossed it over to Liam. “Here.”

“What about you?” Liam asked, but took what he was given.

Theo smirked, pulling out another one. “I’m prepared.”

“I can’t believe you actually sleep in your car”, Liam groaned at him, “we’ll find you somewhere else when we’re back home.”

Theo hummed in response as he got comfortable, pulling the blanket over his body. He looked like a baby crawled up like that. “So, do we have a plan?”

Liam hesitated. “Maybe find them before they find us? We got a location from Argent, remember?”

Another hum, then “I guess. We’ll go there tomorrow and see if we can find anything on how to get them to leave without killing you.”

“And kidnapping you”, Liam reminded him silently.

Theo took a few seconds before answering. “I’m not putting myself in that position again, being the captive”, he mumbled.

“I know. I won’t let them”, Liam said immediately, without hesitation.

Theo chuckled from the backseat. “Alright, my hero. Go to sleep.”

“Night, dumbass.”

“Good night, baby alpha.”

 

-

_Liam turned around, his words stuck in his throat. Theo was quicker to take action, backing him up against the wall without saying another word. His chest was pressed against Liam’s, breath heavy. He couldn’t take his eyes off the chimera, watching as his eyes dropped down to his lips. Maybe it was the dull light in the room, but Liam could swear his eyes were five shades darker than before._

_“Are you sure?” Theo mumbled, his voice raspy, hoarse._

_Liam parted his lips slightly to say something, but Theo ran his fingertips up his arm, pressing slightly as they stopped on his collarbone. Liam’s skin was burning as his fingers twisted themselves with the hair on the back of his head._

_“Liam”, Theo breathed out, “are you sure?”_

_It took a few moments for him to process what words left his perfectly shaped lips. Liam leaned into his touch. He nodded. There was no point in trying to say something else, not when his entire body was screaming at him to kiss, touch, to find out what sounds he made and what his body looked on top of you._

_Liam had kissed people before, but never like this. Theo hovered his lips over his for a moment, breath hot against Liam’s, before pressing their lips together.  Theo wasn’t wasting any time on being hesitant or careful, he knew what he wanted and he knew Liam wanted it as well. His lips were surprisingly soft and they moved too easy against Liam’s; like they were meant to be there._

_It was sloppy, desperate; but easy. Liam grinded up against Theo, hands running down his body before settling on his hips, claws scratching his skin. Theo’s hands were holding his face in place, tilting it slightly to the side and given the opportunity, he shoved his tongue into Liam’s mouth, and fuck. It was the hottest thing Liam had ever experiences. Theo’s thumb pressed against the hollow of his throat, giving the illusion of choking him and Liam let out a gasp in response. By the look of the smirk forming on Theo’s red, plumb lips, it was exactly what he was after._

_Liam had no patience to start arguing about a god damn smirk, not when Theo was half hard against his thigh. He dove back in, tongue sliding against his. Theo moved his hand to tug on his hair, breaking the contact with Liam’s lips. He was breathing heavily and Liam made the mistake to open his eyes._

_Theo probably had no idea how beautiful he was. Eyes closed and red, puffy lips parted. His expression was soft and the scent of arousal was surrounding him like a cloud. He was the most beautiful thing Liam had ever seen._

_He pressed their lips together again, softly. Theo parted his lips slightly and Liam swallowed the soft sound he made, a tingle running down his spine. His tongue found Theo’s again and the past softness was gone, desperate moans taking over. The battle of dominance was short, and Theo won it. His teeth grasped against his lower lip before he bit down hard enough to draw blood._

_Liam found the hem of his shirt, running his hands up the hot skin, claws digging in as Theo ran his tongue down from his earlobe to this collarbone. Liam let out a whine and he would’ve been fucking embarrassed if he wasn’t busy trying to keep his legs from giving up as Theo bit down on the sensitive skin on his neck._

_“Oh god”, Liam breathed out heavily, grinding up against him. He grabbed Theo’s shirt, trying to get it off. He needed skin against skin right there right then or he would actually explode._

_Theo’s hands were everywhere; his face, his hair, his neck and it was impossible to get the stupid thing off his stupid body. Liam broke the sloppy kiss with a groan, and Theo chased his lips, blinking down at the shorter boy._

_It took a moment, but he seemed to get the hint. A small laugh left his swollen lips and he leaned back, letting Liam throw the shirt over his head, fingertips running down his smooth, well trained body. He bit his lip, trying to control both his hands and his boner._

_Liam met his eyes and a few moments of heavy breathing let him return to reality. He was pressed up against the wall, Theo’s shirtless body pressed up against him, chest heaving with every breath he took._

_Beautiful._

_-_

Liam jerked awake. It took a few seconds before he could place the situation, where he was. Mexico. Car.

Theo.

Not in a bedroom, not pressed up against the wall. He stared out the window, swallowing the saliva that had formed in his mouth. His heart was beating way too fast and he could practically smell his own arousal.

What the fuck was that? He took a deep breath. It felt too real, whatever that was. He usually didn’t remember his dreams, but now every detail was glued to his brain, everything from the touch of Theo’s hands on his skin to the look of his red lips, swollen from his kisses.

Okay, no. That wasn’t real, that would never be real. Another deep breath, and then he looked up towards the rear-view mirror to make sure he hadn’t woken Theo up.

Liam could swear his heart actually stopped in unison with his blood running cold. Theo was staring at him, wide awake. There was no mistaking he could smell exactly what he had dreamt about. His eyes were dark, questioning as he met Liam’s gaze through the mirror. He didn’t have mocking, nor terrified look Liam first looked for, but a curious expression spread across his face.

Liam panicked. “Uh”, he stuttered, and the only response he got was Theo slowly tilting his head to the side, parting his lips slightly.

Fuck. They stared at each other for a few moments and for someone else watching them, it would probably look hilarious. Liam; half hard in his pants, arousal reeking of his body, trying to process what the hell was going on, and Theo; half sitting in the backseat, eyes dark and curious and watching Liam with an intensity that made him want to run. Theo breathed in and Liam realized he was breathing in his scent.

“I, uh, I gotta go”, Liam managed to get out, grabbing his phone before almost falling out of the car.

It didn’t make it easier seeing Theo’s eyes drop down to his crotch as he stumbled out. Okay, no. Too much, he had to leave _now._

He was dialing Mason before he could even process his fingers running over the screen of the phone. It was the middle of the night, sure, but his heart was going to jump out of his chest and he was going to have an actual panic attack right there if he didn’t hear his best friend’s voice _now._

“Dude, this better be good”, Mason answered, voice sleepy and thick.

“Please talk to me”, Liam breathed out, his own voice pounding in his ears. His hands were shaking, holding the phone to his ear and he had no idea how his legs managed to carry him so far away Theo couldn’t listen in to his call.

Liam finally realized he had to stop running when he almost stumbled into a small bush, his vision blurry in front of him. He felt like someone pushed his head underwater, not letting him come up for air.

“Hey, what, Liam!” Mason voice was suddenly awake and loud. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“No, no”, Liam managed to get out through gritted teeth as he sank down on the sand underneath his feet. “I’m fine, just talk to me. Tell me something.”

“Tell you what? What happened? You sound-“

“I’m _panicking_ ”, Liam hissed, “please just tell me something. Distract me.”

Mason moved around on the other end and he heard a door shut close. “Okay”, he said, sounding nervous, “uh, I had dinner with your parents today! Not really dinner, you know, but we were at the same restaurant. I’ve been covering for you, saying you sleep at my place because of – sorry – nightmares. They were surprised you weren’t there.”

Liam imagined his parent’s faces, smiling up at him. He tried to remember every good, caring moment they had together, but it was hard when he felt like he was going to explode. Sweat was running down his back and his breaths sharp and shallow.

For a moment he thought he was going to die.

“They said they missed you”, Mason said softly, “they said they missed having you at home. Eating together. I miss you too, you know. I’d be nothing without you, Liam. You gave my life meaning, I know I was meant to be here, with you, helping you with whatever you’re facing. We’re all here, you’re not alone.”

_You’re not alone._

“Liam?”

He breathed in heavily, phone almost falling out of his trembling hand as he rested his forehead against his knees where he was sitting on the ground. “Yeah”, he mumbled.

“You’re not alone, okay? Can you repeat that?”

Liam shook his head. “No.” His voice was weaker than he meant it to be.

“Yes, you can. Say you’re not alone.”

Liam was digging his claws into the palms of his hands, blood dripping down on the sand below him, trying to concentrate on Mason’s voice coming from the phone. _What three things cannot long be hidden?_

“I’m not alone”, he managed.

_The sun, the moon._

“You’re not alone”, Mason said again. _The truth._

He blew out the air that had filled his lungs, his claws withdrawing. It was okay, he was okay. He wasn’t dying.

Liam swallowed thickly. “Thanks, Mase.”

Mason chuckled softly. “Anytime, Liam. Wanna tell me what’s going on?”

He hesitated. “I had a dream”, he started.

“Like a nightmare?” Mason tried and Liam wanted to agree and end it there, but he also knew if he was going to talk to anyone about it, it was definitely Mason.

“Yeah, or no. I don’t think so”, he mumbled, stretching his legs out in front of him. He felt drained of all power, like he’d been running five marathons in a row. “I was kissing Theo…”

The silence was longer than Liam felt comfortable with, and he almost started to panic again before Mason replied.

“Okay”, he said, not laughing or joking like Liam expected him to. “Was it okay?”

“No!” Liam exclaimed, “it wasn’t, why do you think I panicked?”

Mason hummed. “So you don’t want to kiss him?”

“No!”

He could practically hear his best friend nodding in the other end. “Okay, so you had a gay dream and you panicked, that’s understandable. But it wasn’t real, Li.”

Liam groaned. “I know, but when I woke up, Theo was _staring_ at me. I swear he knew exactly what I was dreaming about.”

“How do you know that?” Mason asked him.

“He could definitely smell it on me”, he mumbled, embarrassed.

He could see Mason’s lips turning into an ‘o’ in his mind. “Oh, right. Forgot about that. So you had a gay dream that turned you on, woke up and Theo was watching you? Was he laughing?”

Liam could see Theo’s dark, curious eyes every time he closed his own. “No”, he breathed, “he was just watching me.”

“Is that bad or good?” Mason asked carefully.

“I don’t know”, Liam admitted, “I don’t know which one is worse.”

“Laughing is definitely worse”, his best friend decided for him, “that would be embarrassing. Did he say anything?”

Liam laughed shortly. “No, I said I had to go and ran away.”

Mason groaned loudly and Liam could hear him moving around in his house, “why does that sound so you?”

“It’s not the only thing, Mase”, Liam decided to tell him. He wasn’t sure what he was going to make of anything that had happened to them the past days, but he needed to let someone else in on what his mind was trying to process. “I’ll tell you details later, but you know the Calaveras?” An approving sound came from Mason. “They kind of kidnapped us yesterday. It ended all good, we got a lead on the hunter group in Beacon Hills… but their leader, the old lady?”

“I’ve seen pictures”, Mason said and Liam knew he was trying hard not to go back to the whole kidnapped-story Liam had chosen not to tell.

“Yeah, she told me… she told me I was Theo’s anchor.”

Mason hummed in agreement. “Yeah?”

Liam furrowed his brown. “What do you mean _yeah_? Did you hear what I said?”

“Yes, but that’s obvious. Did she say anything else?”

“Obvious?!” Liam exploded, getting up on his feet again, “what?”

“Liam”, Mason hesitated, “you do know you’re one of the biggest reasons he has changed, right? It’s not a surprise you’re his anchor.”

“You’re kidding me”, was everything Liam could say.

“Look, you rescued him from hell, like literal hell. You saved his life, you were his friend whether you want to admit it or not and I don’t think he’s had that before. If you’re the first person he connected with, of course you’d be his anchor.”

Liam wished he was right there in the desert with him so he could punch him in the face, or at least glare angrily at him. “No, Mason.”

“Yes, Liam. Tell me you’re not the only person he cares about. Tell me he haven’t done anything stupid to keep you safe, and I’ll believe you.”

 _Being the bait._ A flash of Theo’s half smile as the elevator doors closed in front of him came through his memory. “But-“

“No buts.”

“Fine”, Liam groaned, “but it doesn’t explain this stupid dream.”

Mason muttered something Liam couldn’t quite make out before sighing loudly. “It doesn’t need an explanation, you know. Dreams happen. Sure, he could sense you had a… a hard dream, so to speak, but he can’t read your mind. He doesn’t know it’s about him.”

Mason was right. “What if he asks about it?”

“He won’t. He’ll forget about it until tomorrow. You’re fine.”

Liam nodded slowly, “okay”, he mumbled, “thanks, Mase.”

A yawn came through the phone. “Anytime, as I said. How’s it going, by the way? I _am_ going to ask about the kidnapping, but otherwise?”

“All good”, Liam yawned back, “but they know we’re here, the hunter family in Beacon Hills. One of their leaders – I think – saw us with the Calaveras. We’re gonna try to find and surprise them before they surprise us.”

“Don’t get yourself killed where we can’t help you”, Mason warned him.

“We won’t”, Liam said. He thought about mentioning the whole full-shift story with Theo, but decided it was best not to bring it up. He knew his best friend didn’t really trust the chimera, with good reason too, and didn’t want to make him more nervous by letting him know there was a whole dramatic, life changing moment Theo hadn’t told any of them.

“We just need something on how to get them out of Beacon Hills and off your ass, okay?”

“Yeah, we’ll see what we find. Maybe it’s all a misunderstanding.”

Mason snorted. “Sure, a knife through your head sounds like a real misunderstanding. Did you tell Scott, at least?”

“I did”, Liam said, “Melissa told him. Or Malia, or Argent. Someone did.”

“Huh”, Mason said and Liam could hear the smile in his voice, “and he didn’t kick you out. I’m impressed.”

“Thanks, so am I.” Liam threw a look behind him, “I think I need to go back. Get some sleep, you know.”

Mason let out a yawn and it sounded much as an agreement. “Yep, definitely. You know you can call me whenever, right? I’m here for you. I wasn’t kidding when I said you’re not alone.”

Liam smiled softly, a sting in his heart when he realized how much he truly missed his best friend. “I know. Love you, dude.”

“Love you too”, Mason laughed, “sleep tight, don’t let Theo bite.”

Liam rolled his eyes, ending the call. The air was cold around him and he shivered slightly, just now realized how silent the night really was. He could see the car in the distance, and the dark shadows of the surrounding trees and bushes surrounding it. It was a beautiful night, the skies clear of clouds and the stars lightning up the world around him.

He sighed deeply, wishing he could be one of the stars in that moment, far away and not having to worry about anything.

He made his way back way slower than necessary, the conversation with Mason still burning in his mind. He knew he hadn’t been entirely honest with his friend. The picture of Theo in front of him, sweaty and _hot_ was stuck in his mind and even though it terrified him he remembered how beautiful he looked and how much he really did want to kiss his perfectly swollen, red lips.

But it was just a dream. He couldn’t control his thoughts and his actions in his dream, it didn’t mean anything.

It meant absolutely nothing.

Walking back, Liam realised something else. He hadn’t only panicked because he had a dream about intensely kissing the only person he was practically not allowed to kiss, but also because when he saw the look of Theo’s face he wasn’t terrified that he would leave him. And that, scared him more than anything.

The car stood as he left it, and Liam listened carefully for Theo’s heartbeats. The chimera wasn’t asleep, he could hear him moving around in the car. Thankfully, he did pretend to be as Liam climbed in the car, nervously almost falling out against just as he got into the seat. Neither of them said anything as Liam pressed his eyes together hard, trying to force the sleep upon himself.

It was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter! It was kind of emotional for me to write and I hope it came out good in words as well!


	10. White villa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam deals with his dream and they try to find clues to who the hunters are at a location sent by Chris Argent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the support both here and on tumblr, it means the absolute world to me! <3

Liam blinked slowly, the dizziness from the deep sleep he had been in still present. The sun was shining in through the windows of the car. It had gotten extremely hot as the heat reflected from the glass, Liam noticed, running the back of his hand over his forehead. Ugh. He let out a groan, feeling his tense muscles. Sleeping sitting in a car maybe wasn’t the best idea after all.

Liam yawned loudly, the memories from last night slowly coming back to him. Oh, god. Embarrassing. Why did he run away like that?

He realized Theo wasn’t in the backseat, but it didn’t take many seconds for him to spot him outside, sitting with his back against a tree, taking in the sun over him. His eyes were closed and he looked peaceful. For a short moment Liam thought he might be dead, but then he shifted slightly to get a better angle of the sun.

He knew he was going to have to face him sooner or later, and decided it would be better to do it now than to hold it in. Liam opened the car door and saw Theo opened one eye to glance over at him.

Liam caught himself almost waving at him but managed to stop the action. He scuffed towards Theo, not entirely sure what to say. Should he apologize? Tell him sorry? Should he just ignore it? Pretend it never happened? Pretend he wasn’t thinking of what Theo felt pressed up against him?

“Morning”, Theo said, smiling up at the sun.

“Hi”, Liam murmured.

“Wanna get something to eat before we go?”

Liam snorted. “Like what, leafs? A cactus?”

“Actual food, asshole.”

Liam nodded, biting his lip nervously. “Yeah, sure.” He hesitated. “Hey, Theo… about tonight…”

Theo looked up at him, a blank expression on his face. “What about it?” he said like it had no meaning at all. Liam felt the irritation rise in him.

“Don’t look at me like that”, he grunted, “you know what I mean.”

Theo tilted his head. “I do”, he said, rising an eyebrow. “And what about it?”

“Look…” Liam hesitated, not sure how to phrase his words. “Look, I’m sorry alright? It wasn’t fair.”

Theo looked like was considering it before pouting up at him. “Not fair leaving me alone in the Mexican desert or running away smelling like a horny teenager?”

Liam stared at him, eyes wide open. He knew Theo wasn’t particularly careful with what slipped past his lips, but his bluntness still surprised him. His careless expression almost made him angry.

Fine. Two could play a game. “Both”, Liam said, straightening his back, jaw clenching as he met Theo’s eyes. If he was going to act like that, pretend like it meant nothing, Liam was going to do the same thing back.

Theo’s lips curved into a smirk. “What you dream about?”

Liam fought the instinct to run away. He wondered what Theo expected him to answer. “You”, he said after a moment, because the truth was definitely not what he’d been waiting to hear.

His snarky throwback threw the chimera off guard, his eyes widening slightly as his lips seemed to freeze in a half-parted position. Liam counted three seconds before Theo managed to pull himself together and the playful smirk was back.

“Must’ve been good then”, he commented, getting up from his sitting position. Liam wished he would stay down, being the taller one made him a little more confident. Now, when he had to look up to meet his eyes, he didn’t feel like he had as much advantage. “Considering the way you smelled.”

Theo walked up in front of him, almost close enough for their chests to touch. Liam tried his hardest not to think of what his mind imagined being pressed up against the wall by Theo felt like.

“What can I say”, Liam countered, “maybe I am just a horny teenager after all.”

His comment gained a grin from Theo. His face was just a few inches from his face, breath hot on his lips. Theo’s eyes dropped down to the slight curve of Liam’s smile, sucking his lower lip into his mouth.

Liam did definitely not follow every single movement he made closely.

“Mhm”, Theo hummed, “maybe we should get you drunk and set you free?”

Liam forced his eyes from his lips, meeting his searching gaze. “Maybe we should focus on why we’re here, for once?”

“Boring”, Theo exclaimed, running his tongue against the inside of his lips.

“I’ll take boring over being dead.”

“I’ll take being dead over never letting my sexual frustrations out.”

Liam snorted. “Your _sexual frustrations_? Really?”

It broke the chimera’s serious face, and his expression lit up in a grin. “Okay, that was a bad one, you got me.”

Liam smiled back at him, taking a step back so he could get a better look of the taller boy. He looked like he’d slept well, his dark circles almost gone. He looked completely healed and he had a different kind of energy than the drained boy he’d been the day before. “1-0”, Liam nodded.

It was Theo’s time to snort. “20-1, you mean”, he corrected him, rising both brows.

“For me.”

“No, for me. You’ll never out-do me, Dunbar.”

Liam smirked slightly. “I did in my dream.” With that comment, he turned around, taking big, proud steps back towards the car. Theo was still standing behind him and Liam really, _really_ wanted to see the look on his face but used all available energy to resist looking at him.

“Did you actually dream of me?” Theo asked, this time his voice was less playful and more curious.

“No”, Liam said, but he was pretty sure he could hear his heart skip at the lie. “Do you wanna grab some food before we get ourselves killed?”

Liam opened the door, finally looking over his shoulder. Theo was still standing where he left him, face unreadable, but he had the beginning of a smile curving on his lips. “You bet. I choose.”

“If it’s greasy fast-food I’m leaving you to die.”

“It’s definitely greasy fast-food.”

 

-

 

Theo chose the greasiest looking, disgusting fast food he could find, clearly enjoying Liam’s angry mutter from next to him. He could pretend to be angry, swear at Theo’s stupid behavior, but he was extremely relieved Theo didn’t make a bigger thing of that happened during the night.

Liam wasn’t even sure what exactly happened, all he knew was that he didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to face it; but at the same time it was the only thing on his mind.

They were standing in front of a white villa. He couldn’t hear any heartbeats inside and by the calm look on Theo’s face he suspected he didn’t hear anything either. Liam wasn’t sure they were in the right place, not before he noticed the mountain ash in the windows.

He had called Chris Argent on their way, explaining their situation and the encounter with Araya Calavera and her family. He said it was lucky they got out unharmed. Theo looked like he wanted to argue the _unharmed_ part, but decided to stay quiet. For once.

Liam didn’t know what they were gonna look for inside, but he knew they needed something, some leverage if they were going to have a chance to peacefully get the hunters out of Beacon Hills with their life’s intact.

They walked up, side by side, to the front door. Liam stopped a meter back, the line of black, shimmering ash very visible under the door. Theo raised his brows, leaned down and brushed it off, breaking the circle.

Bringing a chimera was a good idea, after all.

They hadn’t said a word since they got to the villa, after a long, long drive on an empty, dusty road. They hadn’t met any car nor sensed any presence. Could they actually be lucky for once? They had parked the car a good 500 meters from the house, well hidden behind a few trees.

“You ready?” Theo asked, voice low and tense like they were about to enter a fight.

“No, but it doesn’t get better than this”, Liam replied with a sigh. “Should we split up?”

Theo threw him a questioning look. “Rather not.”

“We’ll cover more ground”, Liam argued. They still hadn’t tried opening the door.

“But then who am I gonna use as a shield if someone surprise attacks us?”

Liam groaned, reaching forward to try the handle. It was, of course, locked. Kick it in, he thought, but before he managed to get his thoughts into action, Theo reached over to the big plant on the left side of the door. He lifted it slightly, finding a small silver key underneath. He smirked slightly. “Predictable people.”

“Huh”, Liam shrugged, watching as Theo fit it into the key hole. The door opened with a squeak, a dust of cold air flowing towards them as they stood in front of the dark hallway. It seemed like a normal family villa and Liam had the strange feeling in his stomach that they were just breaking an entrance to rob someone. Not that they were, but he expected this is what it felt like.

He walked inside slowly, like he was expecting a trap of some kind to trigger. Nothing happened. It was completely silent except for a clock ticking from the room to the right; the living room.

The hallway looked like his own; shoes that seemed to be belonging to three people, three adults, on the right side and jackets suggesting at least one of the adults were younger, maybe the child of the other two.

“Weird”, Theo mumbled as he came up to his side, breathing in deeply, “don’t you recognize it?”

Liam shook his head slowly, knowing what Theo meant, “no, but it seems weirdly familiar”, he mumbled as he breathed in the scent of the family living there. He knew he had smelled something… something like this before, but he had no idea what it could have been. “Do you recognize it?”

“Yeah, but I can’t… can’t say from where.”

“Me neither”, Liam agreed. There was a mirror hanging on their right, and watching him and Theo in the dull light he truly felt like a thief. They were both half dirty and dusty, in need of a shower and neither of them had any control over their hair. Liam believed he looked homeless, but Theo… he could pull off any god damn look. Annoying, Liam thought.

They took a left turn, ending up in a kitchen. Four chairs around a round table on the right side of the room, and dirty dishes in the sink. Two plates, two people. Maybe the third, younger one didn’t live at home anymore?

On the fridge, there was a photo of a man and a woman. The brunette was the same lady they met before – Amelia – and the man was no one he recognized.

“It’s her house”, Liam whispered and pointed at the picture. He didn’t know why he was whispering.

“Seems like it”, Theo whispered back. He grabbed another photo, standing on the counter next to the sink. It was the same couple, standing on each side of a smaller boy. But their child had no face, it was cut out of the picture. Liam swallowed thickly. It felt wrong.

“That’s terrifying”, Liam gasped and Theo hummed in agreement.

“Yeah, it looks like that on every photo.” He gestured towards the table and Liam took a closer look at the four framed pictures standing in the middle of a small, red cloth. They all had the three of them, the family, but the child’s head was always cut out. One of the photos was a wedding picture, suggesting Amelia was married.

“Why would they do that?” he mumbled quietly, nodding towards the cut of head.

“Maybe they knew we were coming and wanted to hide his identity?” Theo suggested.

Liam shook his head. “I think we’d be dead by now if they knew we were coming.”

“Maybe they thought the mountain ash would keep us out?”

“Seemed more like a safety procedure. Seems like they didn’t know you can cross it. Theo, this house seems very… very house-like.”

“I almost feel bad being here”, Theo said, a sad smile playing on his lips as he met Liam’s gaze. “But we need to find something now that we’re in.”

Liam gave him a slow nod. “Yeah…”

They left the kitchen, moving onto the first bedroom. It was a double bed, clearly the room of Amelia and her husband. Over the bed, two big portraits of each of them was hanging. Their bed was neatly made. It looked like every married couple’s bedroom ever.

The framed photos on their nightstands followed the same pattern as before, their child either missing or cut out from the picture. It sent a shiver down Liam’s spine. What kind of parent would do that?

A book was placed on the left side of the bed, and Liam moved over to pick it up. It just had a black cover, no text or clue to what was inside. He opened the first page.

 

**_ SCOTT MCCALL _ **

**_TRUE ALPHA_ **

**_LEADER_ **

**_UNDEFEATABLE?_ **

 

The name of his alpha was written in big letters across the whole first page. Liam stared at it for a few seconds and Theo must’ve picked up on his heartbeat rising, because he was by his side in a second, looking over his shoulder.

“Specific”, Theo mumbled, waving his hand for Liam to turn the page. He did.

 

**_ LIAM DUNBAR  _ **

**_BETA_ **

**_KILL?_ **

**_NEW ALPHA_ **

**_KILL WILL BREAK SCOTT_ **

**_KILL = BREAK PACK_ **

**_KILL._ **

 

His name was written in the same style as Scott’s, his name and a few lines of words. He turned another page.

 

**_ MALIA TATE _ **

**_~~BETA~~ _ **

**_WERECOYOTE_ **

**_ALPHA’S GIRLFRIEND?_ **

****

**_ DEREK HALE _ **

**_BETA_ **

**_HALE FAMILY_ **

**_FULL SHIFT_ **

****

**_ MASON HEWITT _ **

**_HUMAN_ **

**_INNOCENT_ **

****

**_ COREY BRYANT _ **

**_SPECIES?_ **

**_CROSS CHIMERA_ **

**_INVISIBLE?_ **

****

Liam looked up at Theo, who had a slightly worried expression on his face. Liam knew he was waiting for his own name to show up.

****

**_ LYDIA MARTIN _ **

**_BANSHEE_ **

**_DEADLY SCREAM_ **

****

**_ STILES STILINSKI _ **

**_SON OF SHERIFF_ **

**_HUMAN_ **

**_GUILTY_ **

****

Liam turned the last page.

 

**_ THEO RAEKEN _ **

**_CHIMERA_ **

**_FULL SHIFT?_ **

**_EXPERIMENT_ **

**_KILLER_ **

**_MANIPULATOR – TAKE PAIN?_ **

**_FULL SHIFT??!?!?! HOW?!_ **

****

_Killer._ Liam glanced over at Theo who had his jaw clenched. Liam didn’t really know what to say. His palms felt sweaty holding the book in his hands. The next page was blank, but it seemed like a part had been ripped out.

They had the whole pack in there and it seemed like they added on new information, some of the words written in different ink. The word “kill” under Liam’s name, the last word on his page, was written twice the size than the rest and in a blood red pen. It made his arms almost weaken.

Same with the last “how” on Theo’s row, was underlined five times, written in the same blood red ink used on Liam’s page.

“They want you dead to break the pack”, Theo concluded with a sigh. The silence around them felt thick and unwelcoming.

“Yeah. It would break Scott. And they obviously want to experiment on you.”

Theo hesitated visibly for a moment before adding, “they missed Nolan.”

Liam hadn’t even noticed. “Yeah, but maybe he’s not really pack?”

Theo hummed. “Isn’t he your pack, though? They brought up me taking Gabe’s pain, why wouldn’t they mention Nolan?”

“Yeah”, Liam agreed, “it’s a bit strange. His betrayal to Monroe is probably known by the hunters all over. If they know this much about us…”

“… they were here when it all happened”, Theo ended his sentence. “That makes sense.”

Liam was just going to answer him, trying to keep the idea going, but the sound of a car approaching made them both jump. They met each other’s eyes briefly before Theo ran to the window, peeking out. He gave Liam a short not to tell him that yes, someone was coming up on the driveway.

Liam looked around, heart beating faster in his chest. They needed to get out _now._ Theo looked at him and seemed to understand what he was thinking. But instead of pointing towards a possible exit, he shook his head.

“No time, come on”, he whispered as two voices was heard outside the door. He grabbed Liam’s arm, dragging him towards the wardrobe on the end of the bedroom. He pushed him inside first, stepping in after and closing the door silently behind them. He took one finger to his lips, signing for him to be quiet. Totally unnecessary, like Liam was going to even dare to breath.

Liam held the book tightly against his chest, holding his breath when he heard the married couple enter the house.

“Didn’t we lock?” he heard a manly voice say and a shiver ran down Liam’s spine.

“Don’t know”, the woman, Amelia, answered. “Where did you put the wolfsbane?”

Liam shifted slowly, nervously, and in that moment he realized his dream was practically becoming reality. Theo was leaning up against him, his chest hot against his own as they were pressed up the wall of the way too small closet. Two people should not fit in there together. Personal space? Absolutely not.

Liam shifted, trying to get himself a better angle to he could see out the small interstice in the closet door. Theo grunted quietly, and Liam managed to get in a few rib punches before he could turn around completely to face the door.

Which was a mistake.

Theo’s breath was hot against the back of his neck and he could feel the hair on his skin reacting to the sudden warm feeling. He was breathing just a little too loud and right in his ear, sounding way more erotic than the he probably meant it to.

Liam swallowed, but if he moved just a centimeter more he’d be falling out the door. Instead, he took a step back, backing into Theo’s hips. He could feel his belt from his jeans press into his hips. He let out a short breath, his heart starting to race.

Outside, the married couple came closer and closer to the bedroom, pointless discussion about something that didn’t matter, and Liam really needed to relax right now or they would be in trouble, his breaths loud enough for even humans to hear.

He almost jumped as Theo slightly brushed his hand against his arm. He paused for a moment, to see if Liam was going to pull away. He didn’t, so Theo pressed more firmly, wrapping his fingers around the naked skin just below where his t-shirt ended. Liam held his breath, not sure what to do.

He fought every instinct to lean into his touch, trying to remember there was a threat just outside the door. But it was hard, so hard, as Theo’s lips brushed every so lightly against his neck.

“Relax”, Theo breathed out and Liam wanted to laugh.

“ _Relax?_ Seriously?” he whispered back, voice weaker than he meant it to be.

Theo lifted his other hand, repeating his motions on Liam’s other arm, thumb running up and down his soft skin. “If you don’t slow your breathing they’ll hear you when they get in here.”

“And you’re not helping”, Liam growled quietly as Theo rasped his nails against his skin.

Theo huffed out a short laugh, warm breath spreading across his skin. He shifted slightly and Liam could feel him – _every_ part of him – pressed up against his back. There was absolutely no way Theo didn’t know what this was doing to him, that he couldn’t smell it.

“I am helping”, Theo insisted, whispering, “focus on me, turn around.”

Liam hesitated. He had fought elbows and ribs to get to this position to be able to see out. “I need to see-“

“No, you need to relax”, Theo cut him off, “turn around, Liam.”

Liam did as he asked, carefully shifting his feet. Theo’s fingers were hot against his arms as he helped him to slowly turn. Outside, he could hear the couple coming in to the bedroom. Liam held his breath.

He didn’t dare to look up at Theo, not when they were pressed up against each other and he was practically holding him in place, his grip both gentle and steady. He could feel his stare and it didn’t take too many moments before the part of Liam that needed to know what Theo looked like in the dull light of the wardrobe won, and he tilted his head up to meet his eyes.

And Theo was staring at him. Liam could just make out the outlines of his lips, his nose, his eyes, his face in the dark, but he could feel him. Theo’s breath over his lips, his hot fingers pressed against his skin, his burning eyes focused on Liam’s lips. He licked them in a response as he noticed, and Theo tilted his head just slightly.

Liam had almost forgotten about outside.

“ _Where’s my book_?” he almost didn’t hear her, even though she stood just two meters away from them. Liam was still holding it tightly against his chest.

Theo’s eyes met his and _god._ Liam could taste his breath, that’s how close they were. If he just moved a tiny, tiny bit their lips would be pressed together, along with every other body part.

Liam’s eyes dropped down to his slightly parted lips, wondering how soft they would be, and suddenly, his dream the other night didn’t scare him as much.

It scared him in the way that Theo was absolutely not someone he should be kissing, not considering all he had done to Liam and his pack. Hell, he shouldn’t even be someone he would consider kissing.

Why was he considering kissing him, again?

He wasn’t gay. It was not that he had anything against it – absolutely not. He could appreciate a hot man when he saw one, but he had never had any real interests in a man before. He was the straight guy to his gay best friend so they could go out drinking together never worrying about falling for the same person.

But standing so close, sharing the same air, lips just an inch from each other, Liam wanted it. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but maybe he could figure that out another time? By the way Theo’s eyes couldn’t decide whether to rest on his lips or his eyes, it seemed like he wanted it too.

“ _Relax, Amelia. You probably left it in the car. Get your stuff, we need to leave. They’re waiting for us.”_

The woman groaned outside but Liam barely noticed. She left the room without saying anything else.

Liam swallowed, the movement causing their noses to bump together. He wanted to laugh, but nothing about the situation seemed comedic. The air around them was thick, their scents mixing together beautifully in a way that made his inner wolf scream.

He wanted to move, but he knew he couldn’t until the married couple were out of the house and in their car. He couldn’t risk them being found. And, he couldn’t risk brushing his lips against Theo’s. If he wasn’t careful, that wasn’t the only thing he’d be pushing against him.

Amelia and her husband drove away.

Neither Liam nor Theo moved.

“Theo”, Liam breathed, the movement of his lips causing the skin of his upper lip to slightly brush over Theo’s.

As a response, he lifted his gaze from Liam’s lips to his eyes. “Yeah?”

“What is this?” he dared to ask, voice still whispering even though he could hear the car drive away, and the empty silence once again filled the villa.

“I don’t know”, Theo responded weakly. “I… I don’t know.”

Liam swallowed thickly as Theo moved his fingers slowly down Liam’s arm. A shiver ran down his spine at the contact and he wet his lips. “Can I…?” he started, eyes darting from his eyes to his lips, hoping Theo would get the hint.

Before he could get an answer, he shifted his foot slightly behind him. It took about three seconds for Liam to stumble backwards and fall onto the floor like an actual _idiot._

He sat the for a moment, dumbfounded, waiting for Theo to burst out laughing at him, but the chimera stepped out slowly, reaching out towards the book that had fallen out of his grip. He picked up a small piece of paper that had fallen out from one of the pages. Slowly he unfolded it.

 

**_ NOLAN HOLLOWAY  _ **

**_SAVE HIM_ **

 

Theo stared up at him, opening the book to the page that had been ripped out. The note fit perfectly. Liam got up on his feet, blood running cold as he spotted something behind the curtains of the window in front of him.

“Oh”, he breathed out. “I think I know why they cropped off their son from the pictures, and why we recognized the scent.”

Theo met his gaze. “Why?”

Liam took a step forward, reaching out for the hidden frame standing behind the curtain. He looked at it for a moment before turning it to Theo. “Because we know him. It’s Nolan. Nolan is their son.”

The picture represented a happy couple, sitting in a park. In the middle was a happy kid sitting holding the hands of his parents. Liam guessed he was around thirteen, grinning up towards the camera. Younger, but it was without doubt Nolan.

“Shit”, Theo breathed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ummm plot twist? oor something


	11. Scarfs and drinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam and Theo are on their way back to Beacon Hills, when they run into a familiar figure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took a few more days than usual to write! been busy and had a block for a whole day... sorry if this sucks.

 

“What do we do now?” Theo asked.

They were still standing in the bedroom of Nolan’s parents’ house and Liam was holding the picture of Nolan in front of them. He looked so young and so cheerful, the smile on his lips telling a whole story of a good childhood. It made both Liam’s heart and his wolf very, very happy.

“I have no idea”, he confessed, “this was kind of unexpected. You think Nolan knows about it?”

Theo shook his head. “That boy was the actual worst hunter, probably ever, so there’s no idea he could’ve hidden it from us so long.”

He was right, it made no sense. Nolan wouldn’t hide those things for Liam. “You think it’s personal, why they attack us? Maybe because we stole him back to our side or something?”

Theo nodded slowly, hesitantly. “Maybe, we should probably ask him. Go back to Beacon Hills and all.”

Liam agreed. A part of him didn’t want to go back, being out of the town of misery had been really relieving. “I guess”, he said and Theo seemed to notice how hesitant he was.

“Well, you did promise me road trips when this was all dealt with”, he reminded him and raised his brows.

Liam snorted, but a joyful feeling spread across his chest at his comment. “We’ll see about it. Do we tell Nolan anything?”

“That’s your call, baby alpha”, Theo shrugged, “don’t look at me. I’m not pack.”

Liam glared up at him, heart almost hurting at the words passing his lips. He decided not to mention it, not wanting to take the conversation. “Fine, we don’t tell him. We wait until we’re back. In case Nolan decided to do anything stupid I need to be there to protect the others.”

“You think he would turn against us?” Theo asked, sounding a little surprised.

“No, I mean if he went to talk to his parents or something. Nolan wouldn’t turn on us.” Liam bit his lip, “he might not be Scott’s pack, but he is mine.”

Theo nodded. “Okay. Then we go home, talk to Nolan and see if he can convince them to lie off and we’ll all be safe and sound again.”

“No killing”, Liam said.

“Sure, baby alpha.”

Liam nodded, folding the note with Nolan’s name and putting it inside the book again. “Alright… let’s go home. “

Theo nodded slowly. “Point the way”, he sighed.

Liam was still holding the book tightly, like he was scared it would turn into dust if he wasn’t careful enough, as they walked in silence the 500 meters to where Theo had parked their car before.

Liam tried to get his head around the situation. Nolan’s parents. He blamed himself for not putting it together earlier, Nolan was half Mexican after all, and who else would have so much information about them if not someone who had fought them before? He knew it wasn’t fair, it could have been literally anyone, but it still felt like he should have known, especially since it hit so close to home.

The ‘save him’ on Nolan’s note seemed like his parents were trying to save both his life and save him from them, from the pack. They didn’t want him to be any part of it. The best way to save him was to break the pack, and to break the pack they had to break the unstoppable true alpha.

And that meant killing his beta, Liam.

It was a simple plan after all, one death – Liam’s – would solve all their problems. Knowing the truth about who they were brought a tiny bit of closure to the hell he was living in.

Liam tried his best to only think about Nolan, only about what was going to happen when they got back to Beacon Hills, and _absolutely_ _not_ that he practically begged Theo to kiss him.

He wasn’t sure what any of this meant, but every time he got close to the chimera he just wanted… he just wanted to take. He wanted to feel his lips, his hot skin and see what voices would slip through his lips.

It scared him. Not in the oh-no-I-can’t-be-gay kind of way because who actually cares, but more in the this-has-never-happened-before kind of way. He had never been interested in men, he had barely given any man a second thought before.

And, it was Theo. It was the boy who manipulated his whole back, almost got him to kill his alpha and when Liam couldn’t he finished the job himself.

It was Theo, who’s only mission was more power and control, mind set on becoming the most powerful alpha of them all.

But it was also Theo, who had saved his life more times than he could remember, who had been stuck in hell with his sister and it had changed him. It was the same boy who risked his life to save his. He was changed.

Liam knew that, but the others didn’t seem to catch on as fast. They hadn’t spent so much time together with him, they didn’t know him the way Liam did. And if it was true, that he did anchor him, wasn’t that a sign that he truly was a changed person? Maybe if Liam explained this, he could get Stiles to dissolve the we-hate-Theo club he had created.

Wait. Don’t think about Theo.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. It was Mason.

_From: Mason_

_Hey dude just checking in, things ok?_

_To: Mason_

_Yeah I think so. We got some news will tell you when we get home_

_From: Mason_

_I mean you and Raeken, are u guys ok?_

_To: Mason_

_Yeah, I think so.  I’ll call when we get close_

_From: Mason_

_You better_

Liam jumped in in the front seat of the car. The air was surprisingly chilly inside. “So, uh. You excited to go home?”

Theo raised his brows as he got in behind the steering wheel. “You suck at conversation when you’re nervous.”

Liam glared at him. “I’m not nervous”, he insisted, staring in front of the road as Theo backed out from their packing space.

“Tell that to your heart”, Theo laughed at him as they drove out into the dusty landscape. It was going to be nice coming home to some real trees and forests instead of the dead land surrounding them.

“My heart is fine, thank you”, Liam growled at him, crossing his arms over his chest like a child. “Maybe you need to get your ears checked.”

“Is it because we almost kissed?”

Liam choked on his saliva, coughing like his lunges were about to fall out. Theo sat, totally carefree, looking out as he was driving. He had a blank expression on his face like the words he said meant absolutely nothing. Like kissing Liam meant absolutely nothing.

It made Liam’s heart ache in pain and he felt the anger rising in his chest.

“I don’t want to kiss you”, Liam said, clenching his jaws, refusing to look up at him.

“It seemed like you did”, Theo said, tone indicating he was totally uninterested in the subject. Liam knew Theo was good, extremely good at faking his emotions, his speech and his body language, but if he was doing that in this situation… it was just rude. And it made Liam feel terrible.

“Whatever”, Liam mumbled, leaning against the car window, closing his eyes, “leave it.”

“Are you scared I’d turn you away?”

Liam didn’t answer at first, wanting nothing else than to melt through the metallic floor and disappear into the dusty landscape. Be one with the cactuses. He didn’t want to hear the bored tone Theo had filling his head.

Obviously, the comment meant that he had no intentions of kissing Liam back and would definitely turn him away. Great, just what he needed after finding out his packmember’s parents were trying to kill him.

“Look, I don’t want to hear it”, Liam said and held in a deep sigh, “and no, I’m not scared of you, Theo.”

He could feel Theo watching him but refused to meet his gaze. If he was going to win this conversation he needed to keep his eyes at anything else than Theo. His heart was about to grow legs and jump out of his chest for sure, and Liam tried his best to ignore it and think about his newest pack-member’s parents trying to put a few too many bullets in his head.

“I know you aren’t”, Theo continued, “but feelings- “

“Stop the car”, Liam growled, putting his hand over the door handle, “now.”

“What?” Theo sounded genially surprised, “you’re gonna what? Walk?”

“I need to pee.” Liam finally grew enough courage to look up at him. Theo was still looking at him as he stopped the car, letting Liam practically fly out of his seat.

He didn’t need to pee, he just needed to get away from Theo’s careless aura. Okay. He needed to chill the fuck down, this clearly wasn’t working. If he was going to be this worked up from being a in a closet together with him, he didn’t want to think what it would do to him if they actually did kiss.

Maybe it was better that Theo didn’t want it. Definitely better. If he was going to stay strong and angry he couldn’t be wasting his time being worried about Theo. Honestly, the older boy probably didn’t care anyway, this was probably some kind of sick joke to him, trying to get Liam to break down or something. Theo was a bad person.

Except, he wasn’t.

Theo’s survival had been because of his fantastic ability to hide behind his careless attitude. Liam remembered what it took for him to open up about his nightmares, but actual feelings? He had never heard Theo talk openly about his feelings, let alone kissing someone. Theo had been without friends, without family for about a decade; it wasn’t weird that he acted this way. Maybe careless and bored was his way of dealing with it.

Truth was, Liam was scared that Theo would turn him down, but he rather it happened now before he really figured out what exactly he was feeling and what he really wanted.

Liam groaned, hiding his face in his hands. Why couldn’t he just stick with Theo was a bad person? Why did he have to _know_ he wasn’t? Maybe he should join Stiles hate-club. Life would surely be a whole lot easier.

Liam sighed, letting a heavy stone fall from his heart. Crisis over and he didn’t panic, that was an improvement. He glanced back at the car and saw Theo standing outside, eyeing him curiously.

He hesitated for a moment, already regretting what he was about to do. He met Theo’s gaze as he walked over to the car. “No, I’m not scared you’d turn me down”, he said, voice clear. “Are you?”

Theo looked surprised. “Am I what?”

“Are you scared I’d turn you down?”

Theo stared at him. “Of course not”, he said after a while, raising his brows, “what are you trying to say?”

Liam crossed his arms over his chest, biting together hard, like he was trying to stop the words he was about to say. Obviously, Theo didn’t think about their past… situations, the same way Liam did. “I think you’re playing me”, Liam said slowly, “and I don’t want you to do it anymore. It’s not fair.”

Theo frowned. “No punching, Dunbar? Isn’t that our way?”

Liam snorted at him. “Maybe I’m trying to use my words now, asshole.”

“Okay. You want me to stop?” Theo licked the inner side of his lips.

Liam nodded. “I need you to stop.”

Theo looked at him with unreadable eyes, lips slightly parted and he looked like Liam’s words was the least he had expected the werewolf to say. “Okay”, he nodded, smiling up at him. Liam couldn’t tell if it was a real or fake one. “I’ll stop.”

“Great!” Liam exclaimed, a bit too loudly, “now get your ass in the car and go home.”

 

-

 

They stopped at the same hotel they had visited on their way to Mexico. Liam remembered what Araya Calavera had said about the Pereira’s – Nolan’s parents – ability to find them but he couldn’t bring himself to care. His back was going to break if he had to sleep sitting up in a car again, he needed a real bed if he was going to be in any condition to fight hunters.

The car ride through Mexico had been really silent, and Liam wondered if he did something wrong. Clearly, Theo had been testing his limits and Liam had to put an end to it. So he did. It was impossible to concentrate on the threat over his head when Theo’s lips were in his mind all the time, so it was for the best.

Theo seemed to be deep in thought, barely noticing as the lights switched from red to green on multiple occasions. He did, on the other hand, have all the time in the world to throw his middle fingers to angry middle aged men passing their car as they yelled out that he was going below the speed limit.

The hotel looked just like they left it except there was a different, just as attractive, young lady in the reception this time. Liam thanked whatever available God that wanted to listen, he wasn’t sure he could stand Theo flirting with her for a cheap price again.

She greeted them with a big, white smile and Liam noticed how Theo picked the exact same room as they had last time they were there; only one bed.

Great.

Liam let his eyes wander as Theo discussed payment. It wasn’t as empty this time; he spotted at least three couples sitting in the bar area, and a lonely young man sitting at the same chair Theo had been when he ran away from his nightmares.

It was only a couple of days ago, but it truly felt like an eternity since. The man sitting alone met his eyes and Liam quickly looked away, he wasn’t in the mood for dealing with any of this right now, he just wanted to sleep. It had been a long day and all he really wanted was to lock himself up in his room with Mason and discuss boring, new games and how bad of a person Theo was, or something. The usual.

It was already past 10pm and he couldn’t wait to get a good night’s sleep in the extremely comfortable sheets. There was nothing like hotel beds.

“I’m gonna take a drink”, Theo mumbled as Liam was on his way to the elevator.

He stopped mid step. “Now?”

Theo raised his brows. “Obviously, are you going to sleep?”

Liam glanced over at the lonely man at the bar again. He could definitely be there to kill them. “Nah, I’ll join.”

Theo nodded, sliding down at one of the chairs. Liam really, really wished he was able to get drunk. Totally wasted, making super-bad decisions wasted. Being a wolf had its perks but the constant sober life was definitely not one of them.

Theo ordered to whiskey’s as he let out a deep, loud sigh. “What a fucking disaster”, he groaned, “you call Scott yet?”

Liam glared over at him. “I’ve literally been next to you the whole day, you would have known.”

Theo shrugged. “He’s gonna come running back so fast.”

“Don’t say that”, Liam groaned, “we don’t have to tell him the whole truth.”

Theo huffed a short laugh, “you gonna lie to your alpha?”

Liam noticed how the young man next to them stopped in the middle of his action, moving his glass of alcohol towards his lips. He glanced over at them.

“No”, Liam admitted.

Either Theo didn’t notice the other man, or he didn’t care. “If we get Stiles or Derek- I’m sorry, do you have a problem?”. Oh, or maybe he did.

The other man didn’t look taken aback at all, he just straightened his back in his chair, not the slightest embarrassed that he had been listening in to their conversation. Liam fought the instinct to get his claws out, but there was something about the scent of the man that threw him off guard.

“Not at all”, the man said, reaching his hands up to correct the scarf he had around it neck. It was a good temperature in the bar area, a scarf was absolutely not necessary.

“Are you listening to us?” Liam asked, tilting his head.

“Oh, yeah”, the man nodded, no shame whatsoever.

Liam frowned as Theo got up from his chair, clearly ready to take on the potential threat. “And what?” Theo said, “you want something? You with the hunters?”

“No”, Liam whispered, not sure why his voice suddenly got so low, “no, wait. It’s familiar.”

The stranger’s face lit up in a grin and he reached out his hand towards Liam. “I think you’re my replacement”, he grinned friendly, “I’m Isaac. Lahey.”

 _That’s_ why it was familiar. Scott’s old beta. Liam stared, eyes wide open at him. He had heard the stories of Isaac, what he had done and where he came from, being Derek Hale’s beta first. He knew Isaac left Beacon Hills after Allison Argent died, the two of them had apparently been in some kind of relationship and Isaac couldn’t handle it.

“Liam”, Liam took his hand, “Dunbar.”

Isaac nodded, still grinning. “Yeah, I’ve heard. Who’s the aggressive one?”

“Theo”, Theo said, crossing his arms over his chest. “You following us or something?”

Isaac let out a short, happy laugh. “Scott sent me a text knowing I was nearby, asking me to say hello. I didn’t recognise you, you don’t look like you did when we were kids.”

“Neither do you”, Theo almost spat out in reply.

Liam looked between the two of them. “You know each other?”

Isaac shook his head. “We went to the same school, but I wasn’t cool enough to hang with Scott, Stiles and Theo.” He winked at Liam.

Liam smiled up at him. There was something about Isaac he found weirdly comforting, like a steady pillar in all this mess around them. “Oh. You got another pack now?” Liam asked him, turning in his chair so he could look at him. A different face was maybe what he needed.

Isaac shook his head. “No. I got a few contacts, but I still want to return to Scott when I’m ready.”

“I think he’d like that”, Liam smiled, “he’s off to college now, but I suppose you know that.”

Isaac nodded. “Yeah, we kept in contact. You’re the new alpha in town, huh?”

“He’s not an alpha”, Theo snorted behind him, arms crossed over his chest as he watched them closely.

Liam glared at him over his shoulder. “And you don’t bring any positivity into this conversation. Sorry, he’s an ass.”

Isaac just grinned. “No worries”, he pointed to the glass of whiskey, ignoring Theo’s comment, “you got wolfsbane in that?”

Liam stared at him, confused. “What? Why the hell would I have wolfsbane in my drink?”

It was Isaac’s turn to stare back at him, lips curving in an amused smile. “Oh, you’ve been missing out”, he laughed, “it’s the way to get drunk.”

“Drunk of wolfsbane?” Theo asked, eyebrows raised in a questioning look.

“Absolutely, let me?” Isaac asked, holding his hand out towards Liam’s drink.

“Yes”, Liam said at the same time Theo said “no”. Isaac ignored the chimera, throwing a look over his shoulder so no one could see him pour the powder into the glass and maybe accuse him of drugging them. He gave it a slight blow and the powder melted into the drink leaving no trace of the wolfsbane. Isaac handed it back to him.

“A glass of whiskey, as requested.”

Liam grinned at him. “If this works you’re my new favorite person.”

Theo rolled his eyes behind him. “Don’t drink that.”

Liam huffed at him, “I am so gonna drink this”, he replied, taking a sip of the alcohol. Swallowing it, the light tingle of strong alcohol followed the drink down his throat and Liam let out a surprised gasp. “Holy shit!” he exclaimed, “it actually works! Theo, we can get drunk!”

He said it way too loudly and way too excitingly than he meant to, and Theo met him with an amused smirk. “Do I have to carry you to our room?”

“I think we’ll have to wrap him up in the couch over there”, Isaac smirked, pointing over at the black sofa in the corner of the bar area. “I’ll give you a blanket.”

Liam took down the rest of whiskey in one go. “I’m in.”

Theo let out a low hum. “What happened to get back to Beacon Hills?”

“Come on”, Liam tried, smiling up at him, “you think hunters would shoot up a hotel to get us?”

Isaac nodded in agreement, “they would not. Now, bartender, round up some shots!”

Isaac was… exactly what Liam needed. He didn’t know it before, but he realized he hadn’t actually relaxed since Scott left town, but Isaac had this calming aura filled with some type of amusement Liam absolutely loved.

A part of him felt a sting of jealousy every time he mentioned Scott or anyone else from the pack, because he hadn’t been there though all their adventures and their journey growing up. Isaac had. But the biggest part of him was happy to be where he was.

Theo left around one hour in, muttering something that they were absolute idiots and this was a super bad idea. Liam waved him goodbye and told him not to stay up and wait for him. Theo didn’t respond.

Liam wasn’t sure exactly how much alcohol had passed his lips, he counted at least five shots, four whiskey glasses and three beers. Isaac outdid him with one shot and was laughing so loudly tears were forming in his lips as Liam just managed to save himself from tripping his chair just a little too much and falling backwards. He clenched onto the table with a tight grip, mouth open in a mix of surprise, fear and amusement. He couldn’t help the bubbling laugh slipping past his lips as he saw Isaac’s reaction.

It was already past 1am and he should absolutely be in bed by now but there was no way he was ever leaving this table; ever.

“So get this”, Isaac laughed, “I’d probably give my left lung to see Theo do this.”

He held out his phone in front of Liam’s face, showing a clip of a man in a monkey suit dancing to some kids cartoon song. Liam almost spit his beer out.

He grinned. “Dude, I’d give both my lungs.”

“You’d die”, Isaac pointed out, pouting at him.

“It’d be worth it”, Liam decided, “any dance would be worth it.”

Isaac sighed happily, leaning into the table with both elbows. “So how come you two are so close?”

“We’re not close”, Liam tried, “we just… you know. You know!”

Isaac looked like a confused puppy. “I do not know”, he confessed sadly, words slurring past his lips.

“He has no one else”, Liam sighed, resting the side of head in his palm. “You know?”

“I know”, Isaac stared to nod slowly, frowning slightly, “I think. He’s lonely?”

Liam hummed, sweeping the rest of his beer. “I think so.”

“Okay, that I know”, Isaac said sadly, “I heard he did some fucked up things.”

Liam groaned, waving for another beer. The bartender hesitated but did as asked. “Yes, he did some super fucked up things but come on, haven’t we all?”

Isaac frowned. “My father locked me in a freezer.”

“Wha- okay, uh, I guess? But Theo, don’t hate him until you know him, you know?”

Isaac sighed, fixing the scarf around his neck. Liam hadn’t known him for more than half a night but he was very happy they met. And drunk. He was drunk as well.

Absolutely lovely.

Isaac waved his hand in front of his face. “Hello? Earth to Liam?”

Liam snapped his head up, “yes?”

“I don’t think he likes me very much.”

“He doesn’t like anyone”, Liam argued.

Isaac pouted. “He wasn’t like that when he was a kid. He was nice.”

Liam suddenly realized Isaac was able to give him all the juicy childhood details and the man in front of him suddenly because a lot more interesting than before. “How nice?” he asked quickly so Isaac wouldn’t forget what they were talking about.

“You know”, Isaac shrugged, “nice. A normal family, he and his sister used to hang at the park like, all the time.”

For some reason, Liam wanted to cry. “He did?”

Isaac nodded. “They were really close. When she died he changed a lot, he wasn’t a kid anymore. I remember because he went from always helping this little girl in a wheelchair into the elevator at school to just walking past her. I was so mad at him at first but then someone told me his sister died and then they just, disappeared you know?”

Liam didn’t know, but he pretended he did. “Yeah”, he nodded.

“Then Scott told me he was back, and that he kind of killed his sister”, Isaac shook his head at his own words, “insane. These doctors must’ve really gotten into his head. He wasn’t like that.”

Liam sighed. “Yeah, they got him good, I think. He’s better now.”

“Yeah, Scott told me to keep an eye on how he treats you but… I don’t think I have to. He likes you.”

Liam rolled his eyes, “I told you he doesn’t like anyone.”

Isaac shook his head again. “He likes you”, he insisted. “Like, a lot. You know he stares at you right?”

A frown appeared between Liam’s brows and he wanted to laugh away Isaac’s words, but at the same time he wanted to know what he meant. “He does?”

Isaac nodded, taking a sip from his vodka redbull. “Oh yeah, when I touched your shoulder before, dude. I thought he was going to actually kill me.”

“Why would he kill you if you touched my shoulder?” He slurred.

“Duno, maybe he _like_ likes you?”

Liam shook his head, fast enough for the dizziness to fill his mind. “No, he doesn’t know how to.”

It was Isaac’s turn to frown. “Okay but that doesn’t mean he can’t.”

“Whatever”, Liam waved him away, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

A smirk grew on Isaac’s lips. “Ooh, sensitive topic? You like him too?”

“No!” Liam exclaimed, “look, I don’t know what I feel and I don’t want to talk about it.” He was pouting like a baby and he knew it, but discussing whatever he felt for Theo was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

Isaac ignored his wish. He gasped suddenly, “did you guys _kiss_?”

Liam almost got up from his chair to punch him in the face. “We did not!” he almost yelled, “no, Isaac. No, don’t look at me like that. Stop, close your eyes.”

Isaac laughed loudly. “You’re _blushing_ ”, he smirked. “Tell me, I’m a guru. I know stuff.”

Liam glared at him. “No you don’t.”

Isaac put his hands together, a serious look spreading across his face. “Come on, try me.”

“Alright”, Liam said, accepting his challenge. He was already drunk enough to spill practically anything his heart was feeling. “Okay, here’s the deal. We get in weird situations and I’m like, I want to kiss him, you know? And then he acts like he does but then he acts like it means nothing so I was like, he don’t want to kiss me, you know?” Isaac made the gesture of taking notes. “And he was like _are you scared I’d turn you away?_ all platonic like wow it means nothing to him and I was like _hey Theo-boy, cut it off, stop doing that_ and he was all like _stop? Really?_ And I was all like _yes, stop_ and then he stopped. Get it?”

Isaac stared at him for a couple of seconds before nodding frantically. “Definitely. Go on.”

“So, he stopped. And I was like okay good he stopped, and he was all grumpy and didn’t talk to me on the trip back, acting like a big baby. Is he a big baby?”

Isaac raised his brows, pouting his lips and looked like was really considering what Liam just said. He held his hands in front of himself, making small movements like he was connecting different part of Liam’s short story together. “I got it!” he suddenly exclaimed.

Liam gasped in excitement. “Hit me, Lahey!”

Isaac frowned. “Don’t say that because I might actually hit you.”

It took a moment for Liam to come up with an answer. “Hey, if you start a fight in the bar I’m going to win. I’m not losing, ever. Especially not my first bar fight.”

“Whatever”, Isaac snorted, “I’ll leave you to your dreams. But! I got it. You turned him away and now he’s being a pouty baby about it.”

Liam laughed at him, “I didn’t turn him away, I told him to stop playing me!”

“Yeah, maybe, but that’s technically turning someone away, right?” Isaac looked at his, eyes big and curious.

“No”, Liam shook his head, “we’re talking about Theo Raeken here, not some love struck teenager. We get each other, sure, but it’s not like that. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” He groaned loudly, trying to hide his face in his hands. Preferably he just wanted to sleep and wake up and all would be good. “I don’t have.. feeling or whatever for him.”

Isaac nodded slowly. “I didn’t say that”, he hurried to say, “but alright, whatever. I’m up to discuss something else, but I'm just saying what I saw."

“Whatever”, Liam groaned, “let's discuss something else, like what the hell you have been doing all this time?"

 

-

 

He came back to the hotel room way too late, giggling, arm in arm, with Isaac Lahey all the way up to their door. Liam knew it was a bad idea to drink but he had really had a good night and he needed the relaxation and Isaac proved to be the perfect guy. Liam wanted to wrap him in a blanket and bring him back to Beacon Hills himself, putting him down on the floor declaring him back in the pack.

Isaac had a room five doors down, so he waved dramatically, pretending to sweep away a tear from under his eye before throwing himself through his door. Liam stood outside his, grinning like an idiot.

Theo wasn’t asleep, that much was for sure. He knew Theo’s sleeping heartbeat and what he could hear wasnt that. For a moment, he had been scared that maybe Theo would have been kidnapped or would lie dead on the floor or something. But, not everything on this trip could end badly, right?

Liam opened the door carefully, but it was probably less smooth than he thought it was because Theo glared at him from the bed. He had the blanket tucked all the way to his chin and looked absolutely adorable. Beautiful, he thought. Even in the dark.

“Hi”, Liam whispered. He didn’t know why.

“Shut up”, Theo answered.

“Rude. You love my voice.”

“No”, Theo sighed, turning his back against him, “just shut up and go to sleep. I’m tired.”

Liam ignored his request, reaching for the hem of his shirt to throw it over his shoulders. It landed on top of Theo’s head and he let out a surprised sound, sitting up in the bed. The shirt fell off his face and Liam grinned at him. “Hilarious”, he decided and Theo rolled his eyes, but a small smile was playing on the corner of his lips.

That’s more like it, Liam thought. “Isaac said some things”, he couldn’t stop himself, “about you and your sister being very close.”

He was scared he’d overstepped, but Theo didn’t yell at him nor looked angry, he just tilted his head and waited for Liam to continue, so he did. “And that you helped a girl in a wheelchair.”

Theo actually smiled as the memory seemed to form in his mind. “So?”

Liam shrugged. “Nothing, just wanted to tell you. Isaac is nice. You’d like him.”

Theo snorted. “I don’t like the way he looks at you.”

Liam got down in the bed, a satisfied sigh slipping past his lips. Maybe he should steal one of these beds home, they were literally heaven on earth. He pulled the blanket up to his chin and turned towards Theo, watching him in the dark. “What do you mean?”

He could see the silhouette of Theo shrugging. “He looks at you like you’re a meal. It’s disgusting.”

“He’s nice”, Liam insisted, “you would have known if you stayed.”

“Whatever, go back to sleep now so I don’t have to stop every fifteen minutes for you to puke tomorrow.”

Liam laughed softly. “Would you kill me if I puked in your car?”

“I’d rip the head of your shoulders”, Theo said seriously. “Now go to sleep, and let’s hope you don’t talk as much when you’re not awake.”

Liam frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You talk in your sleep”, Theo pointed out, getting himself comfortable and ready to sink into the dream world.

“I do not”, Liam gasped, “how dare you?”

“You do”, Theo said, a smirk spreading on his lips, “so try and keep it down.”

Liam muttered something angrily for himself before shifting into the perfect sleeping position, as close to Theo as he dared, when it hit him.

Wait, if he talked in his sleep, then- “did I say something when we slept in the car?” He remembered suddenly. _Did I moan your name when I dreamt you shoved me up against a wall and made my knees weak?_

Theo just chuckled quietly, but didn’t respond.

Damn it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ARE THESE BOYS EVER GONNA PULL THEMSELVES TOGETHER AND JUST KISS??? 
> 
>  
> 
> all your love and comments means the WORLD to me!!


	12. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam, Theo and Isaac return to Beacon Hills and try to figure out a way to tell Nolan about his parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for your amazing comments!! I love u.

Bringing Isaac back to Beacon Hills was the best idea Liam had ever had. He only had to ask once before Isaac let out a big, dramatic sigh and agreed to go with them, as long as they didn’t disturb him him the backseat. 

Theo seemed less happy with having to drag Isaac along in his car, but he didn’t put up much of a fight, thank God for that. Liam wasn’t really in the mood to argue. He had slept good that night and woke up by the sunlight shining in through the windows. He had one arm thrown around Theo’s waist and his face was snuggled up in the warmth of his neck. Before he realized what position he was in, he breathed in heavily, his scent sending a calming shiver down his spine.

It felt right. It smelled right. Then he realized he was spooning Theo and rolled of the bed so quickly he had no chance of stopping himself until he landed on the floor with a thud. Theo eyed him tiredly from the bed, shaking his head like he was completely done with Liam’s bullshit.

Liam smirked at the morning memory as he leaned his head against the car window. The trip back was boring, not much conversation was made and Liam just wanted to get home to his pack, especially Nolan considering what they had found out.

He couldn’t help but think back to what Isaac had said the day before, about Theo helping the child in the wheelchair every day in school. When he glanced over at the boy driving he tried to imagine how he looked when he was just a kid. A happy, carefree kid. Theo noticed Liam looking and threw a snarky comment about his hangover, if he was going to throw up he should look the other way. Liam rolled his eyes at him. He wondered what changed. The dread doctors obviously, but how?

They reached the outskirts of Beacon Hills just as the sun started to set, and Liam noticed how Isaac got up from his half sitting position and the sour taste of anxiety reached his senses. He wrinkled his nose, glancing back at Isaac who sat with his jaw clenched and fists pressed together tightly.

“First time back?” Liam asked softly.

Isaac shot him a look. “Yeah”, he said.

Theo sighed, pulling over just before they crossed the old, dirty  _ Welcome to Beacon Hills _ -sign on the side of the road. He turned around to look at Isaac. “What’s your story?” he asked.

Liam was going to protest, tell him there was nothing to talk about, but Isaac straightened his back and looked at him. “My girlfriend died here”, he said, voice obviously pained but calm, “so I left. Haven’t been back since.”

Theo bit the inside of his lip. “Allison, right?”

Isaac nodded. “Yeah. I think I’ve been through every possible kind of therapy and dealt with it any possible way, so there’s no reason stopping. Hit the gas, Reaken.”

Theo rolled his eyes but did as told. Liam was happy Isaac seemed okay with coming back, but he didn’t miss the energy it took for him to not swing the door open and run the other direction. He hadn’t told Scott about his beta’s return, he wasn’t sure Isaac wanted him to. 

Theo drove past Liam’s house, towards the animal clinic where Mason, Nolan and Corey had agreed to meet them. Theo was trumming with his finger on the steering wheel as he pulled in the driveway. “You thought about what you’re gonna say?”

“They don’t know you got hunters on your ass?” Isaac asked, rising his brows.

It hit Liam that Isaac had no idea what had happened with Nolan and his parents, they hadn’t told him. By the way Theo glanced at him it seemed that he was surprised Liam hadn’t filled him in. He bit his lip. “The hunter’s are one of my pack members parents”, he sighed.

Isaac’s lips formed an ‘o’ and he suddenly seemed a lot more interested than he was a moment ago. “Really?”, he exclaimed, “that’s shitty. Who?”

“Nolan”, Liam shrugged, “you probably don’t know who it is.”

“Nope”, Isaac smiled, “glad the pack is expanding. Human?”

Liam nodded at him. “Yeah, was a hunter during the raid but he’s with us now.”

Isaac pulled a face and leaned forward in his seat. He eyed up at the clinic in front of them and seemed lost in his own thoughts for a moment. Then he looked back at Liam, “That’s a tough one. Bet he doesn’t know?”

“Probably not a clue”, Liam said sadly, “which is why we gotta figure out how to tell him.”

Theo let out a short laugh. “ _ You _ gotta figure that one out, baby alpha.”

Liam groaned. “Come on, then.”

“Wait”, Isaac hesitated, “Is Deaton there?”

“Probably”, Liam nodded, “you wanna wait here?”

Isaac shook his head, opening the door to step out of the car. He breathed in heavily and pulled a face. Liam smirked, knowing exactly what he was scenting. The very familiar, unmistakable Beacon Hills scent.

Liam and Theo came up to his side and Liam gave him a reassuring smile. Isaac frowned at him, but took the lead into the building. The sun was almost completely set and Isaac held his hand over the door handle for a few seconds before nodding to himself, pulling it down and stepping into the animal clinic.

Liam hurried after, eager to see how the rest of the back would react as he brought Isaac back. He stepped around the corner fast enough to just be able to avoid stepping right into Isaac’s back. He had stopped mid step and stared over at Deaton.

The veterinarian stared back at him for a few moments of awkward, complete silence. Next to him, Mason, Corey and Nolan was standing, the same confused look spread across all their faces. Then, Deaton’s face lit up in a huge, relieved smile and he opened his arms, walking towards Isaac.

Isaac was grinning too, walking into the hug. “Good to see you, Isaac”, Deaton sighed.

Isaac nodded against his shoulder and Liam couldn’t help but smile. Even Theo had his lips curved up. The rest of his friends just looked confused at each other. “You too”, Isaac mumbled.

“How have you been? I didn’t know you were coming back.”

“Fast decision, Liam here dragged me along.”

Deaton smiled up at Liam. “Thank you, he belongs here.”

Isaac laughed at the comment, “catch up later? You need to tell me if anything happened to the lady you were seeing.” Isaac winked at him.

Deaton nodded a few times and ran his eyes over the rest of the pack. “Absolutely. I’ll leave you to it. Tell me when you’re done.”

Mason shot him a grin. “Yes! Thank you, doc. For letting us borrow your… your work.”

Deaton shook his head, still smiling and didn’t reply before he left the room. It took a second, then Mason threw his hands in the air. “Liam!” he exclaimed loudly and Liam let out a laugh, running up to great his best friend. “Good to see you! Glad you’re not dead!”

“You too”, Liam grinned at him as he let go of the hug Mason had pulled him in. It felt good, Mason’s happy face filling his sight. 

He might not like the town, but it was nothing better than being together with the people he loved. He remembered Scott telling him that having a pack made him stronger, and being away from said pack could therefore make him weaker.

“Theo, glad you didn’t kill him”, Mason said seriously, looking up at the chimera in the doorway.

Theo rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “Starting to wish someone killed me”, he said, a small smirk ghosting over his lips. Liam wasn’t sure the rest of the pack noticed the slight curve of his lips, or if it was just something Liam had payed attention to so much it came naturally for him.

Which was a little unsettling. Why did he pay Theo’s facial expressions so close attention?

“Anyone gonna introduce him?” Nolan said, pointing over at Isaac who stood watching them.

Oh, right. “Yes, this is Isaac. Isaac, this is… uh. Everyone.”

“Lahey?” Mason gasped loudly. Isaac raised his eyebrows and nodded and Mason practically ran up to him. “Wow, the scarf  _ does  _ look good on you. Peter owes me twenty bucks.”

“Mason”, Corey warned him and Mason blew a kiss at him.

“Sorry, love. Not anyone can pull off a scarf. I mean, you definitely could and-”

“I’m Nolan”, Nolan interrupted him, “that’s Mason and Corey.”

Isaac grinned at him. “Lovely. Short story, I lleft the pack a year back but Liam kidnapped me back.”

“You’re a werewolf too?” Nolan asked him, pouting as he watched Isaac from head to toe. Isaac smirked, flashing his gold eyes at him. “Guess that’s a yes”, Nolan decided. “Great, I think we need you.”

Liam nodded slowly, “Nolan, look-” he tried but was interrupted.

“We found out a few things”, Nolan said, walking up to the bag that was standing against the wall. Liam hadn’t even noticed it was there. He pulled up a small box, sealed with what both looked and smelled like glue. “We glued it together”, he admitted, confirming Liam’s thoughts, “it really got to Malia even when it was concealed in a box so we had to. There’s some kind of wolfsbane in here and even Deaton didn’t know what type it was. He’s trying to figure it out, though.”

Liam frowned. “You sure it’s wolfsbane?”

Nolan nodded at him, “yeah. We stole it from the hunters.”

Theo glanced over at Liam and he met his gaze. He didn’t know if it was lucky or unlucky that Nolan’s parents had been out of time just the same moment Nolan had gotten close with the hunters. Maybe a bit of both.

“That’s dangerous”, Liam sighed, “you could’ve been killed.”

Mason joined their conversation. “We went with Argent, and Corey stole it while invisible.” He smiled a proud smile at Corey who slightly blushed, looking towards the ground.

Liam nodded, there was no need to be angry at them now when it was already done, especially not when they had found something that seemed important. “That’s probably what’s in the box we saw”, Liam told Theo, remembering he had seen the hunters carrying a wooden box, handled very carefully between them, when they were out sneaking around their campsite.

“Probably”, Theo agreed, “you tried it on anyone?”

Mason glared at him. “Why the hell would we?”

“I didn’t mean like that”, Theo rolled his eyes, “I mean you said Malia reacted, did she touch it? Consume it?”

Nolan shook his head. “No, we had the box open on a table to see what it looked like. She stepped in and basically turned around and left again.”

Liam frowned at him. “Did it affect you, Corey?”

“No”, Corey mumbled, “that’s why it’s weird.”

“Give me the box”, Theo said”, reaching his hand out and Liam reacted grabbing his hand, pulling it down.

“No”, he growled, “you’re not trying suicide.”

Theo watched him closely, an unreadable look on his face. “I was going to smell it”, he said lowly and Liam realised he was still holding his hand, hot, soft skin against his. It felt nice.

He pulled his hand back. “Oh.”

Mason was looking at him now as well, frowning lightly. As soon as Liam met his gaze he raised his brows in a questioning look. Liam ignored it.

Nolan handed the box over to Theo, who reached it up below his nose, breathing in heavily. He had his eyes closed, pulling a disgusted face. “It stinks, you sure that’s not why Malia left?”

Liam took the box from his hands. “Seriously, Theo?”

Theo shot him a smirk. “I felt nothing.”

Liam just barely had time to put the box below his own nose as the smell of… something, oozed of the locked box and his throat suddenly went completely dry and he stumbled backwards, coughing loudly. 

Theo was by his side in a second, taking the box from him and throwing it over to Mason, who thankfully caught it. Liam couldn’t decide if he should concentrate on breathing or Theo’s supporting hand on his back, touch burning through his shirt.

“I’m fine”, Liam groaned, clearing his throat, “what the hell was that?”

Theo looked at him and Liam could swear he could see actual worry in his eyes. “You sure?”

Liam nodded, “yeah, thanks. What was that?”

“I don’t know”, Theo mumbled, letting his hand slip from Liam’s back before looking over at Mason. “You should probably conceal it better.”

“It’s red wolfsbane”, Isaac said and everyone turned around to look at him. He shifted his feet uncomfortably like he didn’t plan on getting everyone’s attention. “It’s rare and only occurs in uncommon and rare Asian species of Aconitum.”

“How do you know?” Nolan asked him, frowning.

Isaac sighed deeply. “I ran into it a couple months back with some friends from another pack, I recognize your reaction, Liam. It took out three of them. It only affected the  _ Canis  _ genus; the wolves, coyote’s and so on, not the cats, like the werejaguar and lion in their pack.”

Mason hummed at Isaac’s comment, “do you know the species of wolfsbane?”

Isaac shook his head. “No, but I can help Deaton find out.”

“Yes, please”, Liam nodded, “I think it’s important if we’re gonna find a cure.”

“Fire?” Corey asked quietly, “doesn’t fire burn it out?”

Liam glanced over at the box Mason had put down as far away as he possible could in the room. “Let’s hope so”, he said lowly. Corey bit his lip.

Nolan cleared his throat. “What about you guys? What have you been up to?”

Liam looked at Theo for support. The chimera let out a sigh. “Well, first we saw tigers and bears, then someone tried to kill Liam. I came to the rescue, and then we ran into the Calavera’s who wanted me tortured, and then they let us go and we found a beautiful white villa and Liam found a book. The end.”

Liam glared at him. No, everyone was glaring at him. Theo looked like he had no idea what their angry looks were about. “What? Liam, wasn’t that what happened?”

“Basically”, Liam sighed, “we found an interesting book, that’s for sure.”

He reached for the black notebook he had put on the desk just when they got in, and opened it in front of the pack. He flicked through the pages, letting each member see what was written about themselves.

He showed all, except Theo’s and Nolan’s. The chimera definitely noticed, gazing over at Liam with what looked like a thankful expression. Liam didn’t want to deal with the full-shift information and everything that Araya Calavera had told them about his shift. 

Liam looked up at the pack. Mason was holding his bottom lip between his thumb and index finger and Corey was frowning deeply at the words written about him.

Nolan was staring.

Liam bit his lip, glancing up at him. “Nolan?”

Nolan’s head shot up and he met Liam’s eyes. “Sorry, just imagined something.”

Liam tried to smile reassuringly. “There’s an explanation to why you’re not in the book.”

“Not that”, Nolan waved away his words, sighing, “just thought i recognised the writing.”

Oh. Liam hadn’t thought that far. “Nolan… I...”

Nolan’s eyes were… desperate, as they met Liam’s. He looked at least five years younger, the fear growing, revealing itself on his face as he took a step back, almost stumbling. He looked around, confused, like he was searching for an explanation, anything but what he knew Liam was going to say. Finally, his tilted head his up, staring up at Liam. 

Oh, all he wanted was for him to tell him he was being stupid and it was not at all as he feared. Liam wanted to, so badly, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t lie. “I’m sorry, Nolan…”

Nolan took another step back, staring, eyes wide open. “No”, he said loudly, letting out a desperate laugh, “cut it off. It’s not funny.”

“Nolan, listen”, Theo tried but Nolan shot him a glare so angry it silenced him. 

“No”, he repeated. He held up his hands as to protect himself from them, or from the truth. Both, Liam guessed. “Liam, please step away from the door.”

Liam swallowed thickly. “I get if you need time”, he said slowly, “but I’m begging you, don’t go find them. Don’t go to the hunters. Let us help you.” When Nolan didn’t reply, Liam took a step to the side, leaving the way to the door free.

If he was going to have any chance to fix this with Nolan still on his side, still in his pack, he needed to show him that they trusted him. Liam trusted him enough to let him go.

Nolan stared at him for a few seconds and Liam could see the tears starting to form in his eyes. He bit together hard before rushing across the room, disappearing out the door.

“We’re your pack, Nolan”, Liam yelled after him, “let us help you, you’re not alone!”

Nolan didn’t turn around, he just kept running towards the woods, disappearing behind some trees, leaving the rest of them in complete silence. Liam looked up at Theo, who nodded shortly, confirming it was the right thing to do to let him run. Liam hoped he wasn’t wrong, he hoped Nolan knew he was family now.

Family trusted each other.

“Parents?” Mason mumbled quietly, breaking the thick sadness and silence that filled the room.

Liam nodded slowly, letting a deep sigh pass his lips. “Yeah.” He pulled the picture of Nolan and his parents from his pocket. He wasn’t sure why he brought it with him, but he did. 

Mason watched it closely, pressing his lips together like he was trying to stop the tears from flowing. “He looks happy.”

“I know”, Liam mumbled, “this sucks.”

“Will he come back?” Corey asked quietly.

Isaac was the one to answer. “He’ll be back”, he turned to Liam, “if he’s pack, he’ll come back.”

Liam clenched his jaw, his stomach turning. He felt like he was going to throw up. “I feel terrible”, he mumbled.

“You’re supposed to”, Isaac said, “if you really want to lead this pack, you’re supposed to feel their pain.”

Liam shook head. “I’m supposed to take the pain away”, he sighed sadly. “So I just hope I’ll get the chance. Anyone else got anything they want to share or can we meet up tomorrow?”

Mason shook his head, but didn’t say anything. No one else did either, so Liam just left. Both Theo and Isaac followed him. He was grateful Theo didn’t make a thing about it, since he had the car keys and Liam would have looked like an idiot if he had to go back inside and ask Theo to come with them.

“It would be nice if you could drop me off at Scott’s place”, Isaac said with a warm smile as they reached the car outside.

“Why Scott’s?” Theo asked.

His smile grew bigger. “I need to say hi to Melissa.”

Liam found it absolutely adorable that Isaac tucked his shirt inside his jeans before knocking on the McCall door as they dropped him off. Theo and Liam watched in silence as Melissa let out a high-pitched scream in surprise, throwing her arms across his neck. It was impossible to not share the happiness radiating from Isaac as he followed her inside.

As Theo pulled up outside Liam’s house, Liam dragged him along without a word. He wasn’t gonna let his hunted friend sleep in his uncomfortable car when he had a warm house to share and he was absolutely not going to argue about it.

Theo thankfully didn’t put up a fight, he just followed Liam inside. A note was placed on the dinner table inside.

 

_ Good to have you home! We’re staying at the Johnson’s tonight, see you tomorrow. LOVE YOU XOX _

 

Liam was glad, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to fake his mood this night, not when Nolan’s teary eyes was all he could see in front of him. He hoped with all his heart the young boy would make the right decisions.

He would never make him choose between his real family and his pack, but he at least wanted to be there supporting him in whatever he chose to do.

He gestured up the stairs and Theo took the lead to the bedroom. Liam just wanted to sleep.

 

-

 

“Thanks for not showing my page or telling them about my shift”, Theo said in the darkness.

Liam glanced over at the couch. “You’re welcome.” A few moments of silence and Theo shifted in the couch. Liam sighed. “Come.”

He could hear Theo lifting his head to look up at him. “What?”

Liam replied before he could regret it. “There’s place for two, come up.”

He thought Theo was going to ignore him first as the chimera remained still in bed, but then finally he moved, tossing over the floor to squeeze down next to Liam without another word. His warmth and scent satisfied all of Liam’s senses and he sighed dreamily and let his eyelids fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter might take day extra to write since I'm going to have to do a little research to get all my facts correct! Hope you can bear with me xox


	13. Marvel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam tries dealing with the situation and Theo calls for movie day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the nice comments!  
> So... I got some other ideas while writing, and my planned chapter gets to wait...
> 
> This chapter is a bit of a filler, as I need some ground to stand on for my next one (which is finished and is waiting for beta).  
> So, it's shorter, but a needed chapter, and I rather split the two in half instead of having them all in one big mess. 
> 
> SO. A bit shorter but hopefully worth it!!

Liam woke up with Theo pressed against his back. It felt good; nice to have a warm body next to him. It was way too long ago he had felt this close to anyone. It felt safe, protective, and exactly what he needed to feel.

Theo had one arm thrown over his waist and was snoring in his ear. Liam gave him a light push and he groaned displeased, rolling over to the other side. He watched Theo drifting back to sleep again, his back muscles moving in the light of the sun outside, heartbeat steadying.

Liam sighed heavily, resisting the urge to move in and touch, feeling him move underneath his hand. He forced himself out of bed and made his way down the stairs with heavy footsteps, expecting to see his parents sitting at the breakfast table, before remembering they weren’t home. Now that he was well rested and felt calmer, he wanted nothing more than to give them a big hug. There was nothing like the love from parents, after all.

He grabbed an apple from the counter in the kitchen and sank down in the couch, pulling his phone out from his pocket.

 

_To: Mason_

_Any words from Nole??_

 

Mason replied almost instantly.

 

_From: Mason_

_Morning dude, no nothing here. You?_

 

_To: Mason_

_Nah. Sorry. Hope he’s ok._

 

_From: Mason_

_Awww daddy Liam._

_How’s Theo??_

 

Liam stared at the screen.

 

_To: Mason_

_He’s sleeping._

 

_From: Mason_

_HAH!!! He did sleep over I knew it!!_

 

_To: Mason_

_Let it gooooo_

 

_From: Mason_

_I would sing along but i saw the way you looked at each other yesterday. HMU if you need tips on lube ;)_

 

_To: Mason_

_Sorry deleted your number, who’s this?_

 

_From: Mason_

_NOT FUNNY_

 

Liam let out a groan, leaning back in the couch. What a mess. He switched on the TV and a moment later he heard Theo putting his feet down on the floor upstairs.

He came down the stairs slowly, and somehow managed to yawn at least five times before he stuck his head through the open door frame. “Spongebob? What are you, twelve?”

“What are you, my dad?” Liam snorted, but had a slight blush on his cheeks as he switched channel.

Theo rolled his eyes, strotting over to sit down next to him. “Morning, asshole.”

“That’s my phrase”, Liam argued, handing over the remote to Theo.

“Sure. What’s on the agenda today?”

Liam shrugged. “Stay alive? Wait from something new from Isaac and Deaton?”

“Fair. Wanna watch a movie?” Theo asked him, switching over to Netflix. “What’s after that Captain America movie we watched?”

Liam smirked at him. “Iron Man. Here, give me. I’ll put it on.”

They watched in mostly silence, and Theo seemed just as caught up in the movie as he did when they watched Captain America. He gave out small gasps and surprised sounds throughout the movie, leaning forward in the couch to get the full experience.

Liam couldn’t help but smile. He also couldn’t help the thoughts of was this the last Marvel movie they were going to watch together? Would they survive this, the both of them? Were they actually gonna be able to finish watching all the movies?

Or would one of them die?

Liam clenched his jaw. He had thought about it - dying - a lot of times since he joined the pack, since Scott bit him, and it had been close a lot of times. He still occasionally had nightmares of when he was trapped in the well, hurt and not able to get up. He would have died if his pack didn’t reach him in time. He remembered how helpless and desperate he had felt, the feeling eating him up from inside.

He should be dead, considering all they had been through. He never knew Allison Argent but he chose to think it was for the best; he wouldn’t know how to deal with the loss of a pack member. He remembered clearly the empty, hollowing feeling filling his chest as he held a dead Hayden in his arms and he would never forget how his heart broke in every way possible. If she hadn't been brought back to life he wouldn't be the same Liam sitting on the couch. He would have been an empty shell of nothing.

Liam glanced over at Theo, wondering if he was alone in his thoughts. They were the biggest targets for the hunters and knew it affected the chimera as well. Liam hoped he knew he had his back in this, he wasn't alone anymore. Theo was pack.

It was an easy thing for say, at least for Liam. Theo was pack and even if he wanted to think otherwise, Liam would do anything it took to protect him.

Would he die for him? Yes. Would he admit it? Absolutely not.

He couldn’t place exactly when he started to be okay with thinking of Theo as pack, but he boy curled up next to him felt the same. It was hard to read the chimera, he was always on his guard and kept just enough emotions float over the surface. Liam saw a big difference though, when they were alone together and together with others. Alone, Theo looked relaxed. His shoulders were down and he smiled more, letting more and more information about himself slip. Together with others, he kept mostly quiet, observing and taking in information from their surroundings. Liam had never understood how he could do that, how he could play the two-faced game without ever getting tired enough to break.

Maybe he would, some day. Maybe he would break. Liam hoped he’d be there to catch him when he fell.

Theo groaned loudly when the movie ended a couple of hours later, clearly not entirely happy with the ending. “Okay, but why did he have to say anything?” he sighed, “isn’t the part of being a superhero to keep it a secret?”

Liam shrugged. “He doesn’t have to, though. He’s rich enough.”

“Whatever. Would be cool though, being like him.”

Liam grinned. “Being rich or a superhero?”

“Both”, Theo grinned back. “Both is fine.”

“Sure. Next?”

Theo’s grin turned into a soft smile. “We got time?”

Liam wanted to glue him to the couch, tell him they had all the time in the world and none of them were going to die. Ever. “Absolutely. Hulk is next.”

“The big purple guy?”

Liam stared at him. “He’s _green,_ you idiot.”

Theo had his thigh touching Liam’s the entire movie. It meant nothing, of course, but sometimes Liam could feel him pressing his closer and he pressed back. The Incredible Hulk was one of Liam's least favorite Marvel movies, so it gave him a lot of time to think. He wanted to tell Theo everything that passed his mind, but couldn’t find the right words and didn't know where to start.

He was worried about Nolan. He wanted Nolan back and he wanted him safe. He wanted Theo out of danger now and forever. He wanted Mason and Corey to live happily ever after and never face a threat ever again. He wanted Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Malia to finish their educations and grow up to be powerful people, changing the world.

He wanted so much but didn’t know how do get it. He needed someone to ask, someone to help him get Nolan back and someone to tell him Theo’s secrets so he could keep him and his full shift safe.

It was hard keeping track of everyone when he had to keep track of himself as well. They had hunters on their asses that was going to try everything in their power to kill him and break the pack. He didn’t know why they hadn’t already, what they were waiting for, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

He hoped the story behind the red wolfsbane could give them some answers.

Theo apparently didn’t find the Hulk movie as good as the other two either. He sat mostly leaned back against the couch, frowning as Bruce Banner struggled to gain control. Liam found himself comparing the green giant to himself as he used to really struggle with controlling his anger. It made him feel a bit better, like being his own superhero.

His phone buzzed on the table. It was Isaac.

 

_From: Isaac L_

_Going out of down w. Deaton to track down the flower. Be back tomorrow latest_

 

_To: Isaac L_

_Got you. Call if you need back up_

 

He didn’t get a reply and didn’t expect one either.

The movie felt shorter than the last one and Theo stretched his arms over his head as the credits started to roll on the TV. “Alright, it was okay. Not as good as Iron Man or Cap.”

Liam smirked at the nickname of Captain America. “You got a Cap crush already?”

“You seen the guy?” Theo asked and Liam couldn’t make out if he was being serious or not. He didn’t have much time to think about it before Theo continued. “We need to schedule our Marvel sessions, we’re getting through all of them.”

Liam smiled gently at him. “Let’s hope we get the chance.”

He got a stiff look in return and Theo watched him quietly for a long moment before replying. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing”, Liam hurried, he wasn’t going to lay his existential crisis on Theo.

Theo eyed him suspiciously. “Alright”, he said slowly, “sure. Pizza and next movie?”

“It's a plan.”

 

-

 

Absolutely nothing happened that day and Liam was thrilled. His mum texted him saying that they would be gone another night, and he didn’t even think twice about it. He was happy spending the whole day in the couch with Theo, in a t-shirt and just his boxers and a thick blanket over them. Like a date, he thought, just when the new pair gets comfortable enough to invite each other home.

Theo was half lying on him, head resting on Liam’s shoulder as he practically devoured the bowl with popcorn.

“Dude”, he managed to get out between shoving another hand of popcorn in his mouth. “This one is badass.”

They had gotten through Iron Man 2 and was now on Thor, the God of Thunder filling their TV screen and Theo was obviously loving it.

“I’d take him down”, Liam shrugged, “easy win.”

Theo spit the popcorn out of his mouth. “You are _liar_ , Dunbar. You’d squeal and kneel in front him like a baby.”

“You’re mixing my reaction with yours”, Liam pouted, “that would be you.”

“Nuh uh, I’d be Loki’s best friend and you’d cry for mercy.”

Liam raised his eyebrows. “You’re thinking too highly of yourself.”

“So you’re saying you don’t see any similarities between me and Loki?”

Liam looked at him for a while, before shrugging carelessly. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t know much about you, really.”

Theo seemed to almost take offense to that comment. “You’re saying you know this character from half a movie better than me?”

Liam shook his head, a slight smile appearing on his lips. “Do you wanna know how many hours I’ve spent watching these movies and reading the comics? Too many, I’ll tell you.”

Theo rolled his eyes. “Fine. You’re a nerd.”

“I’ll take that”, Liam snorted, “better than being… you.” He couldn’t come up with a good comeback fast enough.

Theo noticed, a smirk appearing on his perfect lips, “yeah? Ouch, Dunbar. That one hurt.”

“Weak.”

“Hey! I’m sensitive.”

Liam laughed, throwing a popcorn in his face. “You’re an idiot.”

He really enjoyed this. He enjoyed having Theo relaxed, comfortable and pressed up against him, as they laughed at each other’s stupid jokes and stupid comments. It felt nice. He hoped once the hunter madness was over, he could have more nights like this.

It was hard to believe this was the same boy that manipulated their whole pack not too long ago, the same guy who let his sister die. Liam desperately wanted to know his story and what really happened to him, but he felt scared Theo might close up once he asked. He wasn’t risking whatever they had, not yet. Not until he was sure he wouldn’t lose him.

It might be a bit weird and there was no way he could explain it to the rest of the pack, but having Theo there… it anchored him as well. It made him calm, made him find a steady pillar to hold onto in the middle of the chaos, to keep him from drowning.

Liam wasn’t sure he could do this without him, which was another reason why he had to find out what happened to him to trigger his full shift before anyone else did, just as Araya Calavera had urged him to do.

How, on the other hand, was another impossible question. Right then, he was too busy enjoying throwing popcorn at him to even try coming up with a plan.

They stayed in the couch for almost the whole day. They made two longer breaks, for lunch pizza and dinner pizza.

It was 2am as Iron Men 3 ended and they decided they should probably call it a day. The first Avengers movie had really drained most of their powers and Theo said it had been literal porn to his eyes.

Liam almost told him he was the one being literal porn, as he laid, shirt half up his lean chest, head in Liam’s lap and one leg outside the blanked, but just managed to hold back the comment. He was lucky he could concentrate on the movie or the situation might have gotten a bit more complicated in his boxers. 

As Liam shut off the TV with the remote, he caught Theo watching him, and they sat for what seemed like minutes and just watched each other in silence in the dark. Theo had his lips slightly parted and his eyes showed deep concentration. Liam wondered what he was thinking about, but didn't ask; he didn't want to break the moment. It wasn’t the first time that night Liam had caught him looking at him with the same curious eyes; it had happened at least five times before and Liam hadn’t pretended not to notice. Theo finally blinked, a smile spreading on his lips as he got up from the couch. He seemed satisfied with whatever his brain had come up with.

There wasn’t even a conversation about Theo leaving to sleep in his car. The chimera was first up the stars and first to throw himself in bed and Liam couldn’t help the smile curving his lips. He watched as Theo twisted and turned until he found the perfect position, a satisfied sound slipping past his lips.

Just before Liam drifted away to sleep, Theo sighed softly next to him. “We should do this again.”

“Absolutely”, Liam mumbled tiredly.

He heard Theo chuckle slightly. “Good. Nighty, Liam.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading!! Comments and kudos makes my life complete. LOVE YOU


	14. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo deals with the situation and Liam tries to keep up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo!! I mean, they're getting somewhere? Also, here's a hint to what triggered theo's full shift...
> 
> THANK YOU so much for your support!!!

When Liam woke up the first time, the sun had just started to rise over the horizon. He breathed in heavily, finally the scent of home filling his senses. It felt right; relaxing and comforting. It was no place like his own bed, after all. He snuggled closer to the warm body next to him, exhaling deeply, a satisfied feeling spreading across his still half asleep body. He nuzzled his nose up Theo’s neck, breathing in his scent as it mixed together with his.

_Home._

Theo’s hair tickled on his cheeks and Liam threw his hand over his waist, pushing their bodies together as the orange morning light searched its way through his curtains. The feeling of Theo’s soft skin felt amazing against his own and their bodies fit together perfectly in the bed.

Liam let out another sigh before drifting off to sleep again.

 

-

 

He dreamt in the color red. He dreamt that he got thrown in to a pool full of red wolfsbane and there was nowhere to escape, nowhere to go. He was burning, his throat dry, his lungs collapsing and his skin falling off, bloody and burning, and standing over him, Theo was laughing and pointing. _You’ll die here, Dunbar._

 

-

 

Liam jerked awake so sudden he knew he brought Theo back to reality as well. The chimera groaned displeased, opening his eyes slightly to glare angrily at him.

Liam glared back, sweat dripping from his forehead. He could feel his heart almost exploding in his chest. “You’re an ass!” he growled and poked him in the side, hard; angrily.

“‘m not an ass”, Theo murmured tiredly, yawning loudly, “you’re an ass. Why am I an ass?”

“You killed me!” he exclaimed angrily, this time throwing a pillow in his face.

Theo blinked up at him a few times, trying to make sense of what Liam said. Slowly, he seemed to wake up enough to process the words. “You dreamt I killed you?”

“It was so real”, Liam was still growling and Theo’s face lit up in an amused smile, a short laugh slipping past his lips.

“That’s cute”, Theo grinned. He was half sitting up now, his shirtless body lit up by the morning sun outside. His hair stood in all directions, looking so soft and welcoming and Liam just wanted to run his fingers through it. God, he was beautiful.

But not the point.

“ _Cute_?” Liam exclaimed angrily instead. “It’s not cute, you’re an ass.”

Theo still had a grin on his face. Liam considered punching it off his face. “You’re adorable when you’re angry.”

He could just glare at him. “I’m not- what- you’re not making this better! You stood and laughed at me while i died!”

Theo’s grinned faded slightly. “I wouldn’t”, he said softly.

Liam was going to throw a snarky comment back but stopped himself. “You wouldn’t?”

“I’d probably film it too”, Theo said, a smirk growing back on his lips and Liam groaned loudly, grabbing the same pillow he just threw and pushed it against Theo’s pretty face to get it out of his sight.

Theo laughed loudly, his hands grabbing Liam’s wrists to stop him from choking him. Liam pressed harder, getting up in a sitting position in the bed, leaning over to get his body weight into the fight.

Theo’s laugh was muffled by the pillow as Liam managed to press him down on the maddress, throwing one leg over his waist. Theo let his hands fall dramatically to the side, a gurgling, dying sound slipping past his lips and he stopped moving. Liam could admit it was a pretty convincing death scene.

He let the pillow off fall off, grinning down at Theo who had his tongue out, eyes closed and he looked like any child ever pretending to die.

“You know, if I didn’t hear your heartbeat I’d be impressed”, Liam said honestly and Theo apparently couldn’t hold his straight face and his lips curved into a smile.

“Still an ass?” He grinned, meeting Liam’s eyes.

Liam was still sitting on top of him, legs in each side of his waist and hands on each side between his head. He just now realised how close they were; Theo’s morning breath hot against his lips.

“Still an ass”, Liam smiled, “but you’re always one.”

Theo rolled his eyes, and didn’t say anything for a few moments. They watched each other in silence and Liam just got around to thinking he overstepped by rolling on top of him, but then Theo bit his lip and asked, “do you really want me to stop?”

It took a moment for Liam to realize what Theo was asking. He thought back to their conversation the other day as Liam had politely asked him to stop playing him, stop acting like he wanted something when he didn't, after they had almost kissed in the closet, hiding from Nolan’s parents in Mexico. He glanced down at Theo, his face was soft, eyes beautifully green-blue and his lips slightly parted as he watched Liam carefully.

Liam parted his lips to answer, but couldn’t find the right words. Did he want him to stop? No. Was it for the best? Probably. “Theo…” was all Liam could get out, clenching his jaw together. His voice sounded more desperate than he intended it to and he could see the immediate reaction by the boy underneath him.

Theo’s eyes darkened and he reached his hand up, letting his fingers run up Liam’s arm, the touch sending shiver run down his body and he couldn’t help the tingling feeling growing in his chest. God damn it, if Theo couldn’t scent it on him.

Theo didn’t stop, he let his fingertips ghost down his collarbone, his chest, his waist. Liam didn’t ask him to stop either, he just melted in to the touch as his nails scraped his skin lightly. He dared to meet the Theo’s eyes and he tilted his head, waiting for a reply.

Liam couldn’t form any words, especially not when Theo got up on his elbows, face just centimeters from his, not when his breath was so hot against his lips and not when Theo let his index finger trace the hem of his boxers.

It brought Liam back to reality. Okay, too fast. Too much. What was happening?

But on the other hand, it felt nice. It felt right. Theo was carefully watching his reaction but Liam couldn’t make himself do anything else than desperately letting his eyes shift from his lips to his eyes.

“Do you want me to stop?” Theo mumbled against his lips and fuck, Liam just wanted to lean forward and _take._ He wanted to know what Theo tasted like, what sounds he made, how their lips moved together, how their bodies felt skin against skin. He wanted everything. He wanted Theo to _feel_ everything.

“No”, Liam admitted slowly, voice hoarse and husky.

Theo raised his brows slightly, licking his lips. Liam followed the movement closely. “You sure?”

Liam nodded slightly, his upper lip brushing against Theo’s in his motion. “Yeah… but maybe it’s not a good idea.”

Theo tilted his head to the right, his hands settling on Liam’s hips. He pressed down and Liam could feel his half hard-on press against his waist. If he could feel it, Theo could definitely feel it too.

The arousal in the air was unmistakable; it was thick, heavy, mixed with their scents, filling every part of the room and Liam could live in it forever. “Because it’s me?” Theo mumbled and Liam didn’t miss the disappointment his voice.

He was quick to recover the situation, because that was absolutely not the case, pressing Theo down the maddress again, hovering his chest over his .”No”, he said hoarsely, “because of the hunters.”

“There will always be hunters”, Theo reminded him, nails digging into Liam’s sides, pressing their hips together.

Liam held back whatever sound he almost let pass his lips. “Not like this”, he whispered.

Theo smirked softly at him. “So you’re just going to invite boys to your bed but not let them touch you?” The huskiness in his voice made Liam want to whine.

He knew if he moved to press their lips together he was not going to stop. “Theo, don’t...”

Theo let his tongue dart out and wet his lips, his thumb running over the line of his boxers again. “Why not?” he challenged, “I know you want it, Liam. I can smell it on you.”

He did. He did want it. He wanted every part of Theo pressing up against him, hot breath against his and he wanted to touch him everywhere he could reach. He wanted all of it and even if he tried to deny the feelings and thoughts he had about Theo, he couldn’t stop them rushing towards both his mind and his cock.

“You talk in your sleep”, Theo continued, “you said my name. Liam, you _moaned_ my name. Do you know what that does to me? What you do to me?”

Liam couldn’t take his eyes off Theo’s moving lips. He shook his head, not able to get out any words.

“It drives me crazy”, Theo almost growled, rolling his hips up to meet Liam’s. This time, he couldn’t stop the soft gasp slipping past his lips. He saw a smirk growing on the chimera’s lips. “You drive me fucking insane. The way you look at me _all_ the time, they way you touch me… running after me in the hotel, caring for me, no one has ever done that for me before. I wasn’t sure if you were just being friendly or if you… if you wanted me.” He swallowed thickly, “but after the villa, I knew.”

“I wanted to…” Liam mumbled, lifting his hand to let it run through his hair and yeah. It was just as soft as he imagined. Maybe even softer.

“I know”, Theo nodded, leaning forward to press their foreheads together.

Liam just wanted to kiss him, he didn’t want to _care_ that it wasn’t the right time for them _._ “I’m sorry.” He wasn’t entirely sure why he was apologizing.

Theo chuckled and let his head fall back to rest on the pillow below. “Don’t say that.”

“I mean it”, Liam groaned, leaning his head on his chest. “I’m an idiot. I want to… I want you… I just can’t. Not now.”

Theo’s heartbeat was steady as he replied. “It’s alright. I’m not gonna make you do anything you’re not ready for.” He sighed softly and Liam felt his heart skip a beat at his words. “But… you want breakfast or something?”

Liam nodded, sighing loudly. “Yeah”, he mumbled and it had to force himself to roll off from the perfectly comfortable position he was in. “That would be nice.”

 

-

 

His parents still weren’t home as they strolled down the stairs. At work, probably. Theo was walking first, skipping every other step as he spiraled down. He was whistling happily and Liam eyed him suspiciously as he reached for the milk in the fridge.

“Want some?” he asked, looking over at Liam.

Liam was still standing in the door, looking at him with questioning eyes. Theo looked back, raising his brows and Liam shrugged. “Sure.”

Theo nodded, throwing a glass over the kitchen and Liam just managed to catch it before it hit the floor. He sat down by the table, quietly filling up the glass with milk as Theo kept whistling like a happy maid before sliding down on the chair opposite him.

“Whats next?” Liam asked. They couldn’t just sit here and have another movie day like the world wasn’t a mess around them. He forced a smile on his lips, doing his best to look like he wasn’t thinking of what happened just five minutes ago. “How do we find Nolan?”

Theo shrugged. “Don’t know. I’m guessing he’s up in their lair sipping champagne by now.”

Liam glared angrily at him. “Theo!”

“What?”

“Could you not be… you, for a second?”

Theo rolled his eyes. “I’d be offended by that comment but… fine. What else would he be doing?”

Liam had no real answer for that. A part of him wanted to find him but something told him Nolan needed some time alone to think this over. He just hoped he would do the right choice, whatever that was.

“Is it because you almost killed him?”

Liam choked on his milk. “Excuse me?”

Theo tilted his head slightly, a small smile playing on his lips. “At the abandoned zoo. You almost killed him. Is that why you’re being so protective?”

Liam wanted to turn him down, tell him he was being insane and that was absolutely not what was going on here because that was a long time ago and it didn’t matter anymore. Except, that was exactly what was going on and Liam almost got angry that Theo got it right away.

“Maybe”, he muttered.

Theo hummed carelessly, taking a bite of his ham sandwich. “Technically, he tried to kill you first.”

“Not the point. I just don’t want him to do the wrong thing.”

“Go with his parents?”

Liam groaned, hiding his face in his hands as he rested his elbows on the table. This absolutely sucked because however he triedt o phrase the situation it just came out wrong.

“No, maybe that’s the right thing? I mean I can’t decide what’s right for him. I just know that I can’t kill him. None of us can.”

Theo smirked. “I can.”

“No one kills Nolan”, Liam decided harshly, glaring up over his glass of milk. It probably looked kind of stupid but Theo didn’t look like it bothered him.

“Sure, baby alpha. But if you need me to do it, you know where to find me.”

“You leaving?” Liam asked, not able to hide the surprise nor disappointment in his voice.

“I was trying to sound dramatic”, Theo sighed, “if i left you with these dumbasses you wouldn’t survive long.”

Liam let out a short laugh, smiling up at him.”You just slow us down.”

“Sure, let’s go with that one”, he winked at him. “If it makes you sleep at night.”

“Your snoring sure as hell doesn’t”, Liam snorted.

Theo gasped loudly. “I do not!”

“You definitely do, unless I have a homeless man sleeping under my bed that snores at night. That sounds very much like you. Weird, but could happen.”

Liam saw Theo glaring at him. “Fine. At least I don’t moan someones name-”

“Okay, okay!” Liam yelled to shut him up and the chimera snorted out a laugh, grinning at him as Liam felt his cheeks heat up. “Asshole.”

“I’m sure you love my ass.”

“Dropping the subject.”

Theo rolled his eyes and leaned back in the chair, tipping it backwards slightly. They continued their breakfast in silence and Liam managed to block out the picture of Theo sitting in his bed in the sunlight looking absolutely stunning, and his thoughts drifted back to Nolan again. He hoped Isaac and Dr. Deaton found something that could help them in understanding what the hunter’s plans were with red wolfsbane. Shoot them - or at least Liam - obviously, but why with something that? And a cure would be very much appreciated.

Should he call Scott? Probably. He should talk to Isaac first on the other hand, see if him and Scott had agreed on something Liam wasn’t aware of, or if the beta had even told his alpha he was back in town.

“You know”, Theo said suddenly, “I hadn’t had a real breakfast like this since i was a kid.”

Liam eyed him carefully, not sure where he was going with this. “Okay?”

“Mum always had milk, cereal and grape juice. Always grape juice.”

Liam stayed quiet, not wanting to say anything wrong. Theo had never opened up about his family to him before.

“She used to always put one extra glass on the table because Tara had her friends over so often it became a habit for her to put one extra.”

“That’s nice of her”, Liam tried. Theo didn’t seem to notice the hesitation in his voice, or he didn’t care.

“She used to… my mum, that is, she used to get on my ass because I didn’t bring home friends. I didn’t have many. I hung out with Scott and Stiles a few times but… there was nothing coming between them so I felt left out. Don’t think they noticed when I stopped hanging after them.”

Theo had the tone like he was telling a super boring story and Liam had absolutely no idea where this had come from. He didn’t dare to say anything else, just nod slowly and hum in agreement. He didn’t want Theo to stop talking.

“I’m pretty good at getting what I want, thought”, he shrugged, a proud smile appearing on his face, “I always have been. I was good in school and I was good home. But I never brought any friends home. Did you?”

Liam’s head flew up. He watched Theo’s questioning face for a few moments before nodding. “Yeah. Some. I was pretty angry, you know. Not many people wanted to be my bestie.”

“Mason did”, Theo argued.

“Yeah, from sixth grade. Before that I wasn’t very popular.”

“Fair. You were pretty angry.”

Liam glared at him. “You wouldn’t know.”

“I’ve heard the stories. Anyways, where was I? Right, my mother told me to bring home friends or she wouldn’t bring me to the park. She’d go with Tara and leave me home. I got angry and painted some ugly paintings, showed to my mum and told me my friends and I drew them when she was out with Tara. My dad always worked late so he wasn’t a witness to me sitting alone painting them.”

Liam bit his inner lip, meeting Theo’s eyes. “Did it work?”

He nodded. “Absolutely. I’m an amazing liar, you know that.”

“Sadly.”

“She wasn’t an idiot though. She started seeing through my lies when I didn’t hang with the kids in the park. I told her my friends had very mean parents that didn’t let them play there. She got so concerned she almost reported them but I managed to convince her otherwise.”

“How old were you? Five?”

“Eight, when that happened. Just before I met the Dread Doctors. But anyways, Tara knew I was lying but she always got my back.”

 _Then why did you let her die?_ Liam wanted to ask. He didn’t.

“Dad didn’t care. He was a good dad, always driving us places and shit but he wasn’t very invested in our social life. Did what mum told him to.”

Liam nodded. “Yeah, my dad has always been up my ass. But I suppose that’s because I was a little shit.”

Theo chuckled, downing the last milk in his glass. “He took me to my first football game, I remember. Let me sit on his shoulders even though the couple behind us complained they couldn’t see. Seeing you guys playing lacrosse reminds me of him, he was such a sports freak. Every time a game was on he’d sit in his favorite chair, ask me to get a beer and I got to sit in his lap and cheer on whatever team he was cheering on. Mum thought we were stupid and Tara called me a nerd.”

Liam hesitated for a moment, “what happened?”

Theo met his eyes. “Well, I told Tara she could shut it and mum yelled at me for using ugly language-”

“No”, Liam mumbled, “your parents. What happened to them?”

The question seemed to throw Theo of guard. He stared at a spot just next to Liam’s head for a long minute before frowning deeply. “They disappeared.”

Liam held back a harsh laugh. “They disappeared?” he urged Theo to continue.

Theo didn’t. His frown deepened and he seemed to disappear in his own thoughts. It made Liam nervous and he shifted on the chair, trying to think of something to change subject. His mind went blank.

“Yeah”, Theo nodded after a while, sounding sure. “We moved and they disappeared.”

“That’s weird”, Liam remarked.

Theo met his eyes, a sudden darkness filling his pupils. “It’s not weird”, he snarled.

Liam didn’t let Theo’s tone scare him. He was way too deep in to give up. Something seemed very wrong about the way Theo processed Liam’s question and he wanted to know why. “It is”, he insisted, “your sister died and they disappeared? They just left you?”

“It’s not weird, Liam”, Theo almost growled and he could swear his eyes flickered golden for a moment before he seemed to calm down.

Liam watched him, carefully watching his reaction. He decided to change subject.  “Why are you telling me this?”

“Telling you what?”

“About your family?” It was a genuine question. Theo had never opened up to him like this before, but something about it seemed wrong. It wasn’t Theo. He wouldn’t just do that; at least not without a reason.

“I can’t talk about my family with my friend?”

In another conversation, Liam would have given a reaction to the word _friend_ , and he also knew it was exactly what Theo was expecting. “You never talk about your family.”

He cleared his throat, seeming a bit nervous and Liam could hear his heart almost racing in his chest. He didn’t know if it was because he refused to tell him what happened to his parents, or because Liam questioned his choice of conversation. Theo huffed out a strained laugh. “So?”

“So, what are you doing?”

Theo glared at him, like he was asking the most stupid or most obvious question in the world, but Liam had absolutely no idea what the hell was going on. First - Theo practically begged to fuck him, and now he’s suddenly opening up about his life story.

What the hell was going on?

“Liam”, Theo started, running his hand through his hair, “you know we’re both probably not gonna make it, right?”

Liam stared at him. “What do you mean not make it?”

Theo shrugged like he considered bringing up how bad the weather was instead of continuing this conversation. “Either you get shot or someone takes me. We’re not gonna make it out, not both of us. You know that, I know you were thinking it yesterday too, when I asked to see all movies you said _let’s hope we get the chance._ ”

“You’re doing this because something weird I said?”

Theo shook his head, clearly annoyed Liam didn’t get the point. “No, I’m doing this because you said you don’t know me and you think we’re going to die. I’m not dying without at least one person I care about knowing me, the actual me.”

“You care about me?” Liam tilted his head slightly and Theo looked like he considered stabbing him in the chest.

“Liam!”

“Yes, fine, okay. I appreciate you telling me. I want to know everything you want to tell me but Theo, we’re not going to die.”

“You don’t believe your own words.”

“You’re stupid, of course we are gonna make it”, Liam rolled his eyes, leaning forward on the table. If Theo had some kind of existential crisis he wasn’t going to add on to it, even if he did have a point.

Theo shook his head. “No”, he said, voice steady, “because your pack would throw me to the hunters without a second thought if it meant saving your life.” He had no accusing tone in his voice. “And that’s okay, I see why. But if it’s me or you, you’re getting out of this alive.”

“That’s not true.”

Theo smiled softly at him. “It is. And that’s fine, I don’t blame them. All I’m saying is we won’t both make it out alive. I guess everything depends on if taking your life is more important than digging into my brain. That’s gonna decide if it’s me or you dying.”

Liam let out a deep sigh, wanting nothing more than to move across the room and give the broken, lonely boy across the table either a hug or a punch in the face. He couldn’t decide. “Look, Theo. I don’t care if you don’t see it yet, but you’re... you're part of this. Of the pack, of my pack. I’d give as much to save your stupid ass as I would anyone else’s.”

Theo stared at him, eyes big with something that looked like shock, or surprise. A bit of both, Liam guessed. He thought he’d feel different after saying to his face that he considered him pack, but it just felt normal. It felt right. 

Theo’s heart, on the other hand, was racing in his chest and Liam thought maybe he stepped too far after all. “Look, Theo…”

“Do you mean that?” he blurted out.

Liam nodded slowly. “Tell me if I’m telling the truth. You’re part of the pack. Listen to my heart.”

Theo stared at him for a long moment, eyes unreadable, mouth gaping like a fish as he didn't seem to find any suitable words to say. “Okay”, he finally almost whispered, a sudden softness in his voice. “But... you know I’m right. No one else sees me as pack and you know as well as I do they would give me up in a second if it meant saving you.”

“You’re scared to die?”

“I’m not scared, Liam. I’m dealing with it.”

Liam clenched his jaw. “So instead of dealing with knowing you might die like like a normal person, you give me a boner and tell me your life story?”

Theo looked at him. “I’m not dying with regrets, and I want you to know me, not just from the stories you hear.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

A small smile played in the corner of his lips. “But you still like me.”

“And I keep asking myself why."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and leaving your comments and love!! it means the world to me!! <3


	15. Information

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isaac returns with information, and Liam makes a shocking discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while! I've been sick so I haven't really had the strength to finish the chapter... but I got a sudden burst of power sooo here it is!
> 
> Even though I would love only writing about my babies in bed... we need to move the story forwards too B)

Isaac had sent him a text not long after Liam and Theo had finished breakfast. Very good timing, if he had to say so himself. He had just put away his empty glass on the counter and was just about to suggest they’d go outside; it was a beautiful day outside, the sun stood high and there wasn’t a cloud to be seen on the bright blue sky.

On the other hand, it  perfect day to hear the secrets Isaac and dr. Deaton had found out on their little adventure the day before. The short and cryptic _vet clin. now?_ he got from Isaac gave away absolutely nothing, so Liam dragged Theo along as fast as he could towards the car and Theo groaned and complained it was too early to take in any important crap, as he called it,  or even get behind the wheel. Liam didn’t agree, he felt relaxed and ready to fill his brain with the information needed to end this shitty situation and get Nolan back.

It took a few moments of arguing and a promise that yes, Theo could have the softest pillow next night, and they were on their way. It was a short ride to the clinic but Liam knew he was going to push his luck if he suggested walking there. Looking out the window for a moment, he then decided to shoot a text over to his parents, since it was a while since they heard from each other.

 

_To: Mum, Dad_

_Hi! When are u getting home? x_

 

Mason and Corey was already there when they burst through the door like they were on their way to catch a dangerous criminal. The slightly disapproving look from Isaac told Liam maybe he should have gone easier on the poor door.

“Are we missing someone? Deaton will be back in town in a few hours”, Isaac asked as he stood leaning over the table in the middle of the dark room. Another light could be needed, Liam noticed.

“Malia has left town for a few days”, Mason said, “meeting up with Scott. So no, no one’s missing.”

“Except Nolan”, Corey added and Liam threw him a warning glace. Corey shrugged.

“Has anyone heard from him? Liam asked, doing his best to hide the pain he felt in his gut every time he even thought of the kid.

No one said anything and Mason shook his head slowly. “Sorry, Li. Do you want us to try and track him down?

Liam wanted to scream yes, but, “no”, he sighed instead. “We need to show him we trust him to make his own decisions. If I’m right, he’ll understand he’s not alone in this and he’ll come back.”

“And if you’re wrong?” Mason asked. He didn’t have an accusing tone, he was just curious, but Liam still felt a sting of pain in his gut.

“Do we really trust him?” Theo questioned at the same time.

Liam wished he could make his right eye glare at Mason and the other one at Theo. “If I’m wrong we lose a pack member, and yes, Theo, we trust him. He’s pack.”

Theo raised his brows at him but didn’t add anything. Liam met his eyes and they watched each other for a short moment, trying to read each other's expressions. Theo still looked half asleep, hair standing in all directions and hands tiredly placed in his pockets. As his gaze returned to the rest of the group he realized it was probably for longer than he thought because Corey was gaping at him and Isaac had a big grin on his face. Mason just looked confused, like there was something he couldn’t see… or smell.

Their mixed scents, of course. Liam couldn’t help the dark blush creeping up on his cheeks as the supernatural part of his pack could definitely sense that hey had not only slept in the same bed, but also been a bit... closer than that.

Liam noticed Mason looked like he was just about to say something about it, so he was quick to change the subject. “So”, he rushed out, “Isaac, did you guys find anything?”

Isaac seemed to really have to concentrate to wipe the stupid grin off his face. “Yes”, he said, “we found a few things. We tracked down the rest of the pack I was with for a while, the one in which the red wolfsbane killed their members. Their alpha, Levi, showed us a small piece of the flower they had kept, locked in deep in a cave, away from the rest of the pack. Only non _canis,_ non dog-species, were allowed in. Deaton took a look and identified it as _Aconitum hemsleyanum_ , also called the Red Wine.”

Liam nodded slowly. “Okay, did knowing the type give us anything?”

“Well, that depends. We learned how poisonous it is after finding out there was a gardener in the UK who died after just brushing into the flower.”

Liam bit his lip, a slight memory of a picture of a beautiful house with a beautiful garden popping into his mind. “I think I read an article about that… was it a werewolf?”

Isaac nodded. “Yeah, it’s not as fatal for humans as it is wolves. Fatal, sure, but not from just brushing it on your skin.”

“So, you and Liam are pretty much _extremely_ screwed then?” Mason said, frowning deeply at the older beta’s information.

Isaac let a short, reassuring smile on his lips. “No. This wolf was a an omega-”

“A lone wolf”, Liam added if anyone wasn’t aware with the terms.

“- and without a pack, we’re weaker and don’t have any protection. A brush of the flower won’t kill Liam or I, but digesting it in any way, will. We had no luck in finding a cure yet, which is why Deaton stayed behind to see if he could find anything else that we missed, but we learn were it came from.”

“Wait”, Liam interrupted him, trying to gather his thoughts. “So this flower isn’t dangerous to anyone who isn’t a wolf?”

Isaac hesitated a moment to find the right phrasing, “it is”, he said after a few seconds, “just as any wolfsbane is to any human.”

“So a dose lethal for a human would kill Corey too?”

“Yes”, Isaac nodded. “If left untreated.”

“Why didn’t it affect me, then? I’m both wolf and coyote.” Theo took a step towards Isaac.

Isaac nodded slowly, “but you’re a chimera. It’s not the same. You were created, right?”

“Right”, Theo nodded, “makes sense they wouldn’t create me with that weakness. And fire won’t burn it out?”

“No”, Isaac shook his head, “Levi and his pack tried that. Didn’t work. So unless Deaton comes back with a cure…” He ended his sentence.

“Liam isn’t dying, and neither are you”, Mason concluded, “neither one of you are gonna get hit. And if you do, we fix it. We always fix it.”

Liam sighed deeply. He wished he and Theo could just have stayed in the bed for the rest of the day instead of having to deal with this, the nervous tingling feeling filling his every nerve. He almost gasped in surprise as Theo’s hand found his shoulder, warm fingers squeezing slightly. Liam knew he could sense the anxiety reek out from every pore in his body.

Theo’s hand stayed put, sending a calming feeling down Liam’s spine, despite the looks they got from the others in the room. “Are you going to stay?” Liam had to ask, both because he needed to know if he could count on Isaac who basically came back to a death sentence, and because he needed to break the silence.

“Yeah”, Isaac nodded, “I’m staying. You need me.” He winked at Liam, but he knew he was serious. The feeling of relief kicked back his growing anxiety for a moment, a genuine smile spreading on his lips.

“Thanks”, Liam said truthfully, “have you told Scott?”

Isaac hesitated. “No”, he admitted, “have you?”

“Not about you”, Liam assured him, “and not really about this red wolfsbane thing neither… or Nolan. Basically all he knows is someone wants us dead.”

“I hate to be that person”, Mason interrupted, “but shouldn’t we wait to tell him? If he drags himself, Malia and Derek here to help, we just risk more people’s life. Especially if we don’t have a cure yet.”

As usual, Mason said everything he forgot to think about. A part of him knew that was stupid reasoning, since they would be a lot stronger together as a pack with an actual alpha, but on the other hand, risking all their lives?

“He’s right”, Liam nodded, “we should wait until we find a cure.”

Isaac watched him for a moment. “Okay, then it’s decided. We wait.”

Theo squeezed his hand harder on Liam’s shoulder. “You were gonna say something else before, about where the flower came from”, he reminded Isaac.

“Right. There’s two types of Aconitum Hemsleyanum, one that grows naturally in Asian countries. They’re very rare, but very beautiful, and therefore florists have created a type of copy, much more common and you can buy it in pretty much any antique flower shop in the States. But it’s no the real deal; it doesn’t contain the same poison as the original Asian flower, which makes it less dangerous.”

“So there’s a real and a fake one?” Corey frowned at him, “that’s gonna make it super hard.”

“We should always assume it’s the Asian species they have”, Liam said, “just in case.”

“It is the Asian one”, Isaac confirmed, “which is were it gets interesting. Gerard Argent used all, except one small flower, to kill wolves across America before he got back to Beacon Hills and got sick. That one flower was used to kill off big parts of Levi’s pack.”

“Which means there shouldn’t be any left in America?”

“Exactly. The Pereira's, which is Nolan’s mother's birth name, have contacts in Taiwan, who smuggled it over the border. A hundred flowers, more than enough to kill any wolf this side of the United States.”

Liam cursed himself silently. He should have known Nolan’s mother was named Pereira. He knew Nolan was half Mexican, how could he be so stupid to not check the first real Mexican lead they had? Theo noticed his sudden change in mood and let his thumb run down the back of Liam’s shoulder in a calming meaner.

“How do you know this?” Theo questioned him.

“Their contact came with the ship here and just as Deaton and I suspected, he went to check on Levi’s back if the job was finished. We caught him in a town nearby.”

“You kill him?” Theo smirked at him.

Isaac rolled his eyes at him.. “No we didn’t. We left him to Levi and his pack.”

“Which pretty much means you killed him.”

Isaac huffed out a harsh laugh, flashing yellow eyes at him just to prove a point. “Feel free to go back and check if it bothers, you, Raeken.”

“Bother me is the least it does”, Theo chuckled, “don’t you know anything about me?”

“Enough to think you shouldn’t even be in this room”, Isaac shot back. “Only reason I’m okay with it is because you and Liam-”

“Hey!” Liam growled at them both, “cut it out. He’s staying, end of story.”

Theo had his usual mocking smirk on his lips, his face clearly saying it didn’t bother him one bit what Isaac was thinking. His claws digging into Liam’s shoulder said something else.

“Alright, before someone loses an arm, what do we have to go with? What do we do next? Steal their box of red wolfsbane? Burn it and we’re good?” Mason laughed nervously, trying to clear up the sudden tension in the air.

Isaac clenched his jaw and put on a blinding smile. “Yes, but that would be almost impossible after you stole from them last time.”

Mason almost looked offended. “So what? You rather want them to surprise us with something there’s no cure to?”

“I didn’t say that”, Isaac argued, “I’m just saying we need Nolan, so someone should probably find him. Corey and Mason-”

“No”, Liam interrupted, straightening his back to look up at Isaac. He wished he could grow a couple centimetres to be the same height. “We’re not going after Nolan, we’re gonna let him come to us. It’s my choice to make and it’s already made.”

Isaac looked like he was going to argue for a moment, but eventually nodded. “Alright, sure. But if he doesn’t come back and it makes things worse, that’s on you.”

 

-

 

Liam groaned loudly, banging his head against the wall. It he tried hard enough, maybe this would all just go away. Isaac had left to go meet Melissa McCall for lunch, and there was only the four of them - Liam, Theo, Corey and Mason - left in the clinic. It had been a bit strained since Isaac left with the chilling comment that whatever damage Nolan might cause was going to be his fault.

Great, fantastic, amazing. Like he didn’t feel like enough of an idiot for not making the connection between Nolan and his mother.

“Isaac is an idiot”, Mason tried softly, “he didn’t mean that.”

“He did”, Liam sighed against the wall, “and he’s kinda right. If Nolan does anything and we had the chance to stop it… it’s on me.”

“It’s on all of us”, Mason reminded him, “we’re in this together, Liam. Isaac might not be… this pack. He’s Scott’s beta, not yours. But we’re in this with you, right Corey?” Corey nodded immediately, looking very sure of himself. Liam smiled slightly. Mason glanced over at Theo. “Theo?”

Liam somehow wasn’t surprised by the soft curve on Theo’s lips, but Mason looked like he was expecting something entire different when Theo nodded, “absolutely. I got your back, baby alpha.”

“Okay”, Mason said hesitantly, “see? We got your back!”

“Got yours too”, Liam replied quietly. “But it still feels like I’m not… you know, enough? Not enough alpha to make these kind of decisions. People could die! I’d have to sleep with that on my mind!”

Theo hummed quietly. “Allison Argent died”, he said slowly, “and I know you know Scott,  Isaac and everyone else did everything they could to keep her alive. You can’t save everyone, Liam.”

“Then what’s the point?”

“The point is that people die, and sometimes you can’t do anything about it.” Theo crossed his arms over his chest, like he challenged Liam to argue back.

“But if Nolan does something because I didn’t figure out-”

Theo held out his hand. “No, stop. What do you mean if _you_ didn’t figure out? None of us-”

“If I didn’t figure out it was his parents. He’s half Mexican! I should’ve known his mother’s birth name, he’s my pack!”

Theo stared at him, dumbfounded. “Is this about you almost killing him, again?”

Liam crossed his arms over his chest like a baby, just barely registering Corey and Mason following their conversation with big eyes.“This is not-!”

Theo moved towards him so sudden it surprised him enough to step back, hitting the wall behind him. A flash of his his dream in Mexico swept through his mind; Theo pressing him up against the wall, mouth hot against his.

Not now, Liam.

Theo put his right hand on the wall next to his head, forcing him to meet his gaze. “Liam”, he said, voice deadly sharp, “almost killing Nolan? That’s on you. Not knowing Nolan’s mother’s goddamn birth name? Absolutely not on you. Do you get that?”

“Theo…” The low warning wasn’t coming from Liam, it was Mason who didn’t seem entirely okay with Theo’s position; almost pressing him up against the wall.

Liam barely heard his best friend because all he could think of was how much he wanted to kiss Theo. How much he regretted not doing it in the bed earlier, how much he wanted to do it now and how much he would if Mason and Corey wasn’t there.

“It’s okay, Mase”, Liam said, too distracted by Theo’s half parted lips to even look at his best friend. Corey seemed to notice the change in the air around them, because Liam noticed in the corner of his eyes how he started to shift uncomfortably on his feet.

“Liam”, Theo said, voice sharp enough to bring Liam back to reality. “Are you listening to me?”

Liam let out a long sigh, apparently his pleading eyes didn’t work on the chimera. “Yes, fine, but all im saying is if I just had cared enough to meet his parents…” He let his words die out.

“Have you met mine?” Corey asked him, rising his brows.

Liam opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. “No”, he said after a while, “I haven’t.”

“And obviously not mine”, Theo added.

“And mine don’t count”, Mason finished. “See, you don’t have to meet everyone’s parents to accept them into your pack. This isn’t dating, Liam.”

Liam glared at them all, almost feeling slightly betrayed that none of them agreed with him. Especially Theo, who had let his hand slip off the wall, was supposed to be on his side after all they had been through the past days. “Fine”, he groaned, defeated, “fine! Fine. But that doesn’t change the fact that we need him back.”

“Of course not”, Mason agreed, “he will come back, I promise. But you said it yourself, we can’t rush it. How about we get some lunch and try calling the guy? Has anyone tried that?”

Liam shook his head, a small smile spreading on his lips. “No, I haven’t, actually. It sounds good. Pizza?”

“Absolutely”, Corey nodded, clearly excited about the choice of food.

They left the clinic, locking and hiding the key under a plant on the right, where Isaac had instructed them to leave it. There was an uncomfortable silence filling the air as they walked down the sunny road towards the pizzeria. Liam wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what. Mason seemed trapped deep in his own thoughts and Corey looked like was walking on glass. Theo was the only one who looked normal; a slight smile on his lips and hands tucked away in his pocket, he looked relaxed. His eyes, on the other hand, told Liam his body language was just a cover; they were darker than usual and he looked behind every house, every corner and through every window, searching for potential threats. He could look relaxed and fool everyone else, but Liam knew he was just as much on edge as he was.

Liam couldn’t get his mind of the conversation they had earlier in the morning, about his family and his parents. He wanted to know more about how his childhood were, what sports did he play, what music did he listen to? Was he a LEGO or a car-toys kind of kid?

What happened to his parents? What triggered his full shift?

There was so much mystery and secrets around him and Liam just needed to find out exactly what they were. He made a mental note to see if google had anything to offer him later. He had searched information about Theo, together with Stiles, before the whole kill-your-alpha-fiasco, but they hadn’t found much on his parents nor his life after he left Beacon Hills as a kid. Maybe they went on it from the wrong angle? He added calling the FBI student for help on the note in his head.

They were still walking in silence as the sign from the pizzeria showed itself on the end of the mostly empty street. Halfway there, across the street, Liam could see the unmistakable silhouette of Mrs. Johnson - the classy wife in the household his parents had stayed at for the past nights, her big blonde wig and overdosage of perfume telling Liam it was her without having to see her face. They were good family friends, the Johnsons, and had been in Liam’s life as long as he could remember. He decided to ask her if she knew anything about when his parents were coming back, since they weren’t replying to the text he had sent earlier.

“Mrs. Johnson!” Liam yelled, jogging away from his friends across the street. Behind him, he could hear Theo filling Mason and Corey in about his parents not sleeping at home.

The blonde, elegant woman spun around with a big, white-toothed grin on her face and held her arms wide open as she squealed in excitement. “Liam! Oh, it wasn’t yesterday! How are you?”

Liam let the light brown fur coat embrace him for a short moment. “I’m fine, thank you”, he smiled politely, “I was just wondering if you knew when my parents were coming back home?”

Her big smile suddenly turned into a more confused look and a sting of nervosity shot down Liam’s spine. “What do you mean, honey?”

Liam bit his tongue down hard enough to draw blood, the metallic taste filling his mouth. “They stayed at your place the past days?”

She let out a short, almost surprised, laugh, “what are you talking about? Honey, I haven’t heard from them at all for a while now. Last time she saw them, your mother was talking to some beautiful Mexican woman. Loved her purse!” A car honked in the distance. “Oh, I really gotta run now darling, but tell your mother to give me a call when you see her, right love?” She leaned down do a place a sloppy kiss on his cheek before turning her heels around and walked towards the Audi waiting to pick her up.

Liam stared after her. A sudden feeling of.... darkness, ice cold darkness, started to creep up his spine. He tried to speak, to tell her to stop, run after her, but he was frozen in his step, not able to move a muscle. _I haven’t heard from them all week._ Time seemed to slow down as Liam heard footsteps running in the background. He recognized them immediately as Theo’s.

Of course he had listened to their conversation.

The last of Mrs. Johnson’s fur jacket disappeared into the car and the sound of the running engine died out just as a strong hand grabbed his shoulder, tugging him backwards with such power it caught him off guard. The motion forced Liam’s body to gain enough control to keep himself on his feet as he stumbled backwards.

His chest was pounding hard enough to explode, tears of confusion, or anger, starting to burn in his eyes as he met Theo’s shocked and confused look. _Talking to some beautiful Mexican woman._

“They took them”, was all Liam managed to get out between gritted teeth. His throat was starting to hurt from trying to hold back the tears. “They took my fucking parents.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you're all the actual best!!! thank you so much for the love, support and comments both here and on tumblr!! it means the world <3
> 
> im soo excited for what's coming, I can't wait to share it with u all!!


	16. Anger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finding out his parents have been kidnapped, Liam is prepared to do whatever it takes to get them back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for the love and comments. love love love u. this chapter got very long so I decided to split it into two. hope you enjoy!

“Liam, you have to stop!” Theo yelled at him, tone sharp and almost angry. He had no fucking reason to be angry.

They took _Liam’s_ parents. Theo didn’t even had any.

They were planning to kill him, but before they finally got to shoot some red fucking flower through his head - they had to take his parents. Were they torturing them? Hanging them in chains from the roof, bloody., hurting and waiting for their death? Was Liam going to burst in just a moment after his god damned parents took their last breath? Like with Hayden? Was he going to fall down on his knees, not even acknowledging the pain shooting through his body as he held his mother’s lifeless head in his lap and his father’s cold hand in his? Maybe they had been dead for days already, while Liam had believed they were just having a fun, relaxing adult sleepover. While Liam was in Mexico with Theo fucking Raeken, while his biggest problem was if it was okay to kiss him.

He was going to kill them. The hunters. Kill each and every one of them and he couldn’t care less if it changed his eyes, made them bluer than the sea itself, he didn’t care if it got him kicked from the pack or if it was Nolan’s god damn parents. He imagined Scott’s scared and disappointed eyes as he returned home and saw what Liam was had done.

He should kill Nolan too. Was he in on this? Was this his plan? Was this his way of saying fuck you to Liam and his pack? If it was, it was going to be a pleasure stabbing his sharp claws in his chest, watching Nolan’s legs fail him, big eyes staring pleadingly up at him as he slowly relaxed in his grasp.

The thought of Amelia’s fake smile as she talked to his mother was stuck like glue in his head, and he could see her head slowly turning against him, smirking like an evil Disney queen before putting a bag over his parents heads and dragging them towards the car. He imagined his mother screaming for him to help, but he was too late.

That has to be how it went down.

Theo grabbed his arms so hard it caught him off guard, nails almost digging into his skin,  and he stumbled on his own feet, falling hands first on the ground. He felt the warm blood sip out from the laceration on his palms, but he knew it was going to be healed before he even managed to get up on his feet.

He spun around on the ground quickly and he couldn’t stop the fangs from expanding even if he wanted to. A low warning growl rose from his throat, still hurting from the tears he held in. His yellow eyes were staring back at Theo, who stood still with his hand out, breathing heavily. He had a confused and angry look on his face and Liam was just about to punch it off when he started to speak.

“Liam, what three things cannot long be hidden?”

Liam stared at him in disbelief and couldn’t help the raw, bubbling laugh passing through his fangs. He gritted his teeth at him. “Are you actually serious?” He spat out, getting up on his feet, slowly backing away from Theo like he couldn’t even believe he was trying _that_ on him now.

He wanted to keep running, he couldn’t afford to lose even one second to this stupid shit. He didn’t need to calm down - he needed every bit of strength there was in his body and his strength grew from anger.

“Answer me or I swear to god I will knock you down.” Theo was serious.

Liam kept staring. “You can’t be serious. They kidnapped my god damn parents! I don’t have time for this, they might be fucking dead!”

“If you don’t make time, you will kill yourself, your parents _and_ me, so you better put those fangs away right now or I swear to god I will rip them out.”

“Be my guest”, Liam growled, this time moving towards the chimera, taking a threatening stance in front of him. It was a challenge and Theo knew it, but he didn’t bite.

Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest. “What three things cannot long be hidden?”

“If you think you can anchor me or whatever-”

“What three things”, Theo cut him off sharply, “cannot long be hidden?”

Liam wasn’t entirely sure what to do next. If was going to run, why hadn’t he done that already? Giving in to Theo, did that make him weak?

_Control is what’s going to keep you alive._

Scott’s words echoed through his head and even if he wanted to think differently, a part of him knew his alpha was right. “The sun”, he almost yelled out, having to force the words between his teeth. He blinked rapidly, his vision starting to clear. “The moon.” He could see normally. “The truth.” Liam ran his tongue against his upper row of human shaped teeth. He let out a sharp breath, the sudden exhaustion almost making him fall down on his knees.

Theo looked at him and Liam wanted him to smile. He didn’t. “We’ll find your parents, and we’re gonna let whoever took him suffer however you want them to.”

Liam wasn’t sure what to say, so he just let out a sigh. Mason and Corey was standing a few meters back, and Corey had his hand out in front of Mason as to stop him from interrupting them. Liam gave them a short nod and Mason hurried up to him, throwing his arms around his neck. Liam breathed in heavily, trying to concentrate on the scent of comfort his best friend gave out. His eyes met Theo’s, and he mouthed a _thank you_ at him. Theo nodded shortly.

Mason squeezed him tighter.

“We’ll find them, okay? Don’t worry. They won’t hurt your parents.”

Liam gave out a humorless laugh, the feeling of helplessness creeping up in his skin, like spiders crawling up his arms to take over his brain. He shivered. “Mase, they want me dead. Who says they won’t do the same to my parents?”

Mason bit his lower lip. “They’re human?”

“Has that ever stopped hunters before?”

“Yes, the ones going by the code.”

Liam let out a defeated whine. “There’s no code anymore. It died with the birth of Monroe.”

Mason smiled softly. “Good phrasing, let’s get me a gun and go find them, alright?”

“Guys?” Corey tried carefully and Liam looked up at him. “I don’t want to be that guy but, how do we know they’re not waiting for us? How do we even know where they are?”

“You don’t think they took them to the cave, do you?” Mason asked his boyfriend, squeezing his hand tightly.

Corey shook his head. “No, I don’t. Not after we showed up there. I mean, they can’t be that obvious, can they?”

“Probably not”, Liam agreed, “maybe Isaac is good at tracking down scents? Better than me, at least?”

“Or”, Theo interrupted, shooting a smile their way, “we ask Nolan.”

Liam’s first reaction was to laugh at the stupid idea, especially since he, not too long ago, imagined how he would look dying at his knees. He wasn’t entirely sure he trusted himself around Nolan before knowing his parents were safe. He glanced over at Theo, whose face had taken his usual I-don’t-really-care-but-I-might-as-well-help-look. Liam thankfully saw right through.

Mason didn’t.

“Are you even going to try and help?” Mason asked him, tone harsh enough to cut paper. Liam wanted to interrupt him but at the same time he knew Theo was going to have to earn Mason’s trust, just as he earned Liam’s.

Theo looked at him for a few moments before nodding shortly, pressing his lips together. “Yes.”

“Do you promise you’ll do anything to get his parents back?” Mason pressed on.

“Yes.”

“Alive?”

“Obviously”, Theo rolled his eyes.

“I’m serious”, Mason sighed, “please just tell me we can count on you as much as anyone else here?”

Theo met Liam’s gaze for a brief second. “You can. Now, are you gonna stand here argue with me all day or should we ask Nolan?”

“We don’t know where Nolan is”, Liam reminded him and he earned a glare from the chimera.

“I don’t know what century you live in, but we could try calling him. Like normal people.”

Liam couldn’t help the slight curve on his lips. “I think I might break the phone if I talk to him right now”, he warned lowly, not wanting to ruin their, maybe, only chance to find his parents.

Mason nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He stared at the screen for a moment before starting to scroll down his contacts. Liam watched as Mason hovered over _Nolan H_ for a few moments before pressing it firmly, hitting the speaker button.

There was a few moments of silent, then a fast _beep beep beep_ echoed on the empty street. It was busy. Liam was just about to say something when-

“Noley!” Theo exclaimed happily.

Liam could have sworn his chin hit the ground as he stared back at the chimera who held his phone against his ear with a happy grin on his face. Mason shook his head a few times, looking just as dumbfounded as Liam. He gestured for the chimera to put it down on speaker.

_“I’m sorry, I don’t have this number saved. Who’s this?”_

If it was any other situation, Liam would have laughed so much tears would start streaming because Nolan had apparently deleted Theo’s number; a few weeks back he put all their numbers in all of their phones, in case of emergency. He wanted to see the humor in the situation, but all he could feel staring down a the screen was the growing anger in his stomach from hearing Nolan’s voice.

“It’s Theo”, Theo said patiently, “Raeken. Chimera. I’m pretty sure you tried to shoot me a few times?”

“ _Oh_ ”, was all Nolan said.

“Well, just calling to see what’s up, how’s the weather, how’s-”

“ _I can’t come back”_ , Nolan hurried out. It was all quiet around him, which made Liam a little bit calmer knowing he wasn’t the one putting knives in his parents or whatever torture method he prefered.

“It’s your lucky day, I’m not calling to ask you to. You spoken to your parents?”

“ _I can’t answer that, Theo. I know you’re with the others._ ”

Theo clenched his jaw. “Listen, I’m not really calling to check on how you’re doing. Your lovely family snatched Liam’s parents and we need to know where they’re keeping them.”

There was silence for a moment and footsteps echoed in the background. Nolan was moving. “ _What do you mean snatched his parents? My mum?”_

Theo nodded, even though Nolan couldn’t see it. “Bingo! Your parents did the oldest party trick in the book - kidnap someone your enemy loves! It’s in the _Being bad 101,_ a personal favorite of mine, I’m sure the hunters had you read it.”

“ _I, uh. That can’t be true, how do you know this? They wouldn’t just kidnap innocent people?”_ Nolan’s words came out more like a question than a statement and Liam could hear the desperation in his voice. His anger was drowned by his worry for the boy for just a moment.

“They did, so where are they keeping them?”

“ _I don’t know! This isn’t right, this isn’t-”_

“Nolan”, Liam bit out, trying his hardest to keep his voice under control, “please. I can’t lose them.”

Nolan was silent for a while and Liam guessed - hoped - he was thinking about it. “ _I, uh, we have another house in south Beacon Hills, just bought it to renovate but I don’t think-”_

“Where?” Theo demanded.

“ _The barber shop! Next to the barber shop. Red house, you can’t miss it. Liam, please don’t hurt-”_

“Thank you Noley!” Theo said into the speaker, ending the call abruptly to cut off his plea to not hurt his parents, Liam guessed.

They looked at each other for a brief moment, before Theo and Liam moved at the same time towards his truck, keys dangling from the chimera’s fingers. Corey and Mason went the other way, back towards the clinic, to get any type of weapon they could use.

Liam got the door open with one hand, the other one sending a text to Isaac with their location and what had happened, in case they needed back-up. He slid into the seat as Theo started the car, pressing the gas down, backing out from the driveway.

They drove in comfortable silence way over the speed limit. Liam was trying his absolute best to not lose control completely, a million different emotions bubbling inside of him. One part of him wanted to rush in and rip whoever was in his way to pieces while the other part of his wanted to make some rational planning before maybe getting himself killed, which reminded him…

“What did you mean before”, Liam asked, “when you said I’m going to get myself, my parents and you killed?”

Theo stared at the road in front of them when he answered. “I meant exactly what I said.”

“I get my parents, but why you?”

Theo hesitated visibly. “Don’t you remember what the mexican old lady said?”

Liam looked at him but Theo kept his eyes straight on the road. “Araya? No? What did she say?”

Theo bit his tongue, shaking his head slightly. “That you, anchor me or whatever. It doesn’t matter, Liam. Forget it.”

Liam stared at him. “So what, you need me to survive?” he joked, a smirk playing on his lips, which was surprising considering the circumstances.

To his surprise, Theo didn’t even begin to smile. He just clenched his jaws, his fingers gripping tighter around the wheel and Liam realised that shit, he was right. “You don’t need me to survive”, he said quickly, “why would you think that?”

“Do you know what anchoring someone means?” Theo asked, voice strained.

“Yeah. Helping someone keep control.”

“Then why are you asking?” His voice had a slightly warning tone that told Liam he shouldn’t keep pressing, but he never did as told anyways.

“Are you saying you need me to keep control? Theo, I’m not the reason you left your shitty behaviour behind. Your sister is.”

Theo let out a cold laugh, still not looking at him. “No, Liam. You are the reason.”

“That’s not true”, Liam tried. He wasn’t sure why he was arguing about this.

“It is true, can you shut it now? We’re here to save your parents, not argue about me.”

Liam desperately wanted to meet his eyes to get a glimpse of what was going on inside Theo’s mind at that moment, but the older boy refused to look his way. Liam would have grabbed his chin to forcefully turn his head around if that wouldn’t have ended with them crashing the car. “You changed because what your sister did to you in hell”, Liam said slowly.

Theo shook his head. “She made me realise I didn’t want do die again”, he started, pausing for a moment, “and you made me realise why it’s worth living.”

“So…” Liam was smirking now, “you’re saying you can’t live without me?”

Theo raised his brows, “don’t push your luck, Dunbar.”

A short laugh passed his lips. “You know”, he said, sighing heavily, “when we get my parents out of here and get somewhere safe, I’m going to kiss the hell out of you.”

He wasn't sure where those words came from but it was the truth. Finally, Theo’s face split into a big grin and he met his eyes through the rear view mirror. They were almost sparkling. “Okay.”

“Okay”, Liam repeated, “now press the gas, please.”

 

-

 

Two cars were parked outside the red house next to the barber shop. Theo parked a good five hundred meters away, arguing it would be better to walk over to not ruin the element of surprise. Isaac had answered Liam’s text, saying he was on his way as fast as he could. Mason sent a short one too, saying they’d be there in ten.

It looked dark. No lights were on from what Liam saw, but he could hear movements from inside the house. He couldn’t tell if it was his parents yet, but at least five people were inside. A mix of anger and nervosity started to nag inside him and he glanced over at Theo.

They were crouched just below a window of the left side of the house. Theo met his gaze and gave him a reassuring nod. “What do we do?” the chimera whispered. “What’s the plan?”

“Lure them out”, Liam whispered back, “one of us has to-”

“I’m not being the bait again”, Theo rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t expect you to be”, Liam told him. Not too long ago, if someone asked him if he trusted Theo enough to save his parents life’s, he’d laugh them in the face and tell them it was the funniest joke he’d ever heard.

Now, he’d nod and say yeah, yeah I do.

“I was joking”, Theo rushed out, “I got it. They’ll follow the hottest one of us.”

Liam ignored the wink Theo gave him. “You’re boring. Should we wait for the others?”

“Probably”, Theo nodded.

Liam glanced up at the window above them, trying to concentrate his hearing on what was happening inside. He felt like he was 12 again, playing hide and seek with his dad. He always hid in the wardrobe where he wasn’t allowed to hide, and his father always trusted him enough to _not_ hide in there. Liam would never forget the constant looks of disappointment he got when he was found.

This time, he wouldn’t let him, nor anyone else down. He knew his life was dangerous, but he never really considered what would happen to the humans closest around him.. At least his supernatural friends had a way to defend themself against danger.

He glanced over at Theo, glad to have people he trusted by his side during a mission this important. Liam couldn’t hear anything that would suggest torture inside, only low voices, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

He tapped his finger on his knees, trying to convince himself to stay patient to-

“Liam?”

Liam’s head shot up like a rocket and was just a millimeter from headbutting Theo in the face. He had no idea if surprise could actually make your eyes pop out, but he guessed he was about to find out.

“Theo? What are you guys doing here?” Liam’s mother asked, brows furrowed as she looked behind the corner of the house at the two boys sitting with their backs against the red wall.

“Mum?” Liam exclaimed, mouth hanging wide open. A low gasp left Theo’s lips as well. “What the hell are you doing here? How are you- what?”

His mother, looking absolutely fine, crossed her arms over her chest as she walked towards them, “what am I-? I’m visiting a friend, I left you a note?”

Liam couldn’t even get his eyes to blink. “Johnson’s”, he got out, “you said it was Johnson’s? She saw you talking to the hunt- to Amelia-”

His mother chuckled softly. “No, it was Pereira's, darling. It said on the note.”

“It most definitely did not”, Liam managed and Theo shook his head next to him in agreement.

“No?” She frowned, “I doubt Amelia would write her last name wrong. I asked her to write it on the paper since I couldn’t spell it. But enough of that, why are you here? I just got the purse from my car, saw your text a moment ago.”

Before he had a chance to answer, the door opened on the front, and footsteps were heard for a few seconds before Amelia’s face was seen. Liam had to gain all his strength at once to stop himself from flashing his eyes at her. “Jenna! I was wondering what took you so long!”

Amelia had a perfect, happy smile on her face as she looked down at Liam. She didn’t seen the slightest surprised they were sitting like stalkers outside her house. “You must be Liam, right? And Theo Raeken?”

Neither of them answered, but as Theo slowly got up on his feet, Liam did the same. “Lovely to finally meet you”, Amelia smiled. Her eyes were cold as ice.

Liam’s mother - Jenna - looked between them. “You know each other?”

“No”, Amelia laughed, “my son Nolan knows them. Good friends, I think.”

“Oh”, Jenna said slowly. It was clear she wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. “Well, you two should probably go-”

Amelia held up a hand and surprisingly enough Jenna’s words died out. Liam clenched his jaws, claws digging into his palms to calm himself down. He felt Theo’s hand ghosting over the back of his thin jacket, just showing he was there.

“I think you should come join us for lunch, what do you say?”

“No thank you”, Theo answered for them.

“Excuse them”, she said through gritted teeth clearly annoyed by her son and his friend. “Of course they’re joining. Liam?”

Liam glanced over at Theo, asking for any kind of advice or help. Theo shrugged. “Fine”, he managed to get out in a surprisingly calm voice.

Amelia led the way back to the house, and Jenna was walking behind her. Stepping up on the porch, Liam noticed the line of mountain ash across the opening of the door. Amelia’s smug smile slowly died out as Theo crouched down pretending to fix his shoelace, and broke the circle with ease.

He got up, stretched his back and shot a grin at the hunter. “Show the way.”

  



	17. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia tries to get the upper hand and Liam is forced to tell the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long! I've been sick again :( next week I start working boring times again, but my goal is to post one chapter a week. I hope you all enjoy!!

They entered the kitchen in uncomfortable silence. Liam’s father was sitting on the short on the other end of the table, brows furrowing as Liam and Theo strotted in after his wife. Another unknown woman, and a man was sitting around the table as well. Hunters, Liam guessed. By the way they both froze as Liam met their gaze, he got his theory confirmed.

The house was very empty. Except for a dinner table and way too many chairs, there was nothing else to point out in the kitchen. No microwave, no lamps, no nothing. The walls were white and boring with no paintings and it was clear no one had made a residence there.

Amelia gestured towards two chairs, next to the hunter-man, and smiled brightly towards her friends. “We have some guests joining us for company. This is Liam Dunbar and Theo Raeken.”

Neither Liam nor Theo said anything, only looked at each other briefly before sitting down. 

“Theo, honey, you sure you don’t want to wash your hands of the black dust you got on your fingers?” Amelia kept her smile wide as she nodded towards the mountain ash on Theo’s palm placed on the table in front of them. It was wooden with nothing on it. It looked like she just found it in the woods, grinded it down and brought it in.

Theo flashed a grin. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t bother me. At all.”

“I’ve heard it can be quite toxic for some”, her worried voice - clearly fake - felt like a gunshot.

“Not for me”, Theo shrugged, “it’s weird how the world works, isn’t it?”

Amelia sat down on her chair, placing her elbows on the table, hands holding her chin up. “Indeed.”

“Well”, Liam’s mother clapped her hands together to break the awkward conversation in front of her, “you wanna tell me why you’re here?”

Liam nodded slowly and decided the truth was the best approach. “According to your note, you’re supposed to be at Johnson’s”, he explained, “but I spoke to them and they said you hadn’t been there. They said you were here… and Amelia, your son gave us the address.”

“You couldn’t just call?” Jenna, Liam’s mother, asked, eyebrows raised on her forehead.

Liam clenched his jaw. “No. I was scared something happened to you. You know how Beacon Hills is.”

A soft smile spread on her lips and Liam realised to his relief that his mother wasn’t going to freak out and scream at him. “I do”, she sighed, “this just got a bit messy. I’m sorry my son and his friend were on your property without your consent, Amelia.”

“No worries”, she smiled, “I agree with your son. Beacon Hills is a special town. I must have written the wrong name on the note. I can’t believe I’m so dumb!”

She put her hands over her mouth, looking like an old lady trying to excuse what she had done. Liam knew of course, that it was her plan all along to get them over there. Probably to expose them outside, or when they tried to get over the mountain ash. Considering her reaction as Theo carelessly brushed the ash away, she had no idea it didn’t bother him.

Liam wasn’t sure that was a good or a bad thing.

“Isn’t Nolan joining us?” Liam smiled at her. A cold smile. He didn’t bother agreeing that yes, she was in fact very stupid.

“Who’s Nolan?” It was his father asking.

“A good friend of ours, and Amelia’s son.”

Amelia looked over at his father, “indeed. It’s good to know he has such caring friends. It makes a mother very happy.”

“I’d say the same”, Theo agreed, his voice high pitched and extremely happy. Extremely fake as well, Liam knew. “I’m so glad he’s so accepting to our differences in our friend group, aren’t you, Liam?”

“Absolutely”, Liam agreed, “I’m glad we all get along and support each other will all problems and conflicts Beacon Hills has to offer us!” He did realise he sounded like he was reading from a script written by someone forty years older than him, but if she was going to play the game; he wasn’t going to back down.

“Especially now”, Theo agreed. “Too bad he isn’t here.”

Amelia frowned deeply. “You said my he told you about this property?” 

“He did”, Liam said slowly, “he said it was recently bought by your family.”

Amelia nodded but didn’t seem to put any weight into his words. “Yes, as you can see we haven’t gotten much furniture here yet. Is he here with you?”

It hit Liam suddenly that Amelia had no idea where Nolan was. She tried to play it cool, but her eyes were filled with worry she couldn’t hide. She had no idea if Nolan knew about them being the lead hunters in trying to kill Liam or not. He glanced over at Theo, hoping to magically transfer his thoughts to him. But it seemed he didn’t have to - Theo’s eyes told him he came to the same conclusion. A slight smirk spread on his lips.

“Well, not here exactly but yes. He’s with us. A good friend, as you said yourself.”

“Of course”, she smiled, “As I said before, I’m glad. It would be appreciated if you told him to come home next time he’s around.”

Jenna and Liam’s father was shifting uncomfortable, looking like they rather be anywhere but in that kitchen, having the most confusing conversation in their lifetime. Liam didn’t blame them, but at the same time he was absolutely game for playing the not-so-subtle game Amelia was trying. Theo, leaning forward, seemed to be thinking the same.

“You can’t call your own son?” Theo challenged her, voice sharp.

“I-” 

“Theo”, Liam cut her off, “don’t you remember, Nolan said he found something out and wanted to be left alone? We should respect that.”

Amelia looked between them, trying to figure out what they were playing at and how she should respond. Liam knew that in any other situation she’d be able to play her cold self, but this was about her child. “Did you tell him?” she asked bluntly.

Liam’s mother cleared her throat loudly. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about now, but I think it would be better if we took this conversation at home, don’t you-”

“Did you tell him?” Amelia practically growled, slowly getting up from her seat. Both Liam’s parents stared at her, eyes wide open. Her hunter friends were sitting rigid, looking anywhere but at the scene in front of them.

Theo tilted his head slightly. Liam probably looked as nervous as he felt, but Theo looked cold as stone, not moving a muscle more than necessary. “Hm, let me recall… yes. Yes we did.”

“Actually”, Liam added, “we found this book with our names in it and some… interesting information. He recognized your handwriting.” 

“If you hurt-”

“Hurt?” Jenna exclaimed loudly, now getting up from her seat as well. “What is actually going on here, Amelia? Are you threatening my son?” Her voice cut like a knife.

“No”, Amelia shot back, “But I will be if they hurt-”

Now Liam’s father was on his feet too. “I will not tolerate this. We are leaving  _ now _ .”

“Wait”, Jenna said through gritted teeth, “you’re saying my son hurt yours, a minute after you established how good friends they are?”

“I-”

Then, a growl loud enough to shake the empty walls echoed through the kitchen and Liam realised in horror that he forgot to tell the rest of his pack the sudden change of plans. He barely had time to process the thought before the door swung up in a loud  _ bang _ , and a figure came flying through the air, rolling on the ground before taking a stance a few meters from the kitchen door.

Isaac.

Behind him, Mason and Corey rushed in, Mason with a big knife over his head and a warrior scream passing his lips. Liam didn’t know what God he had to thank, because Isaac wasn’t shifted; his eyes weren’t glowing and his face was human. His claws on the other hand, were digging into the floor, but Liam was pretty sure no one noticed as Mason had a true serial killer look in his eyes and face twisted in an angry, ready-to-fight expression. 

Silence fell as everyone tried their best to process what just happened. Isaac’s expression changed from utter confusion to looking like he wanted to melt through the ground, Mason looked extremely uncomfortable and Liam didn’t even dare to see his parents faces.

“Uh”, he started, “change of plans?”

“What the fuck is going on!” Jenna was yelling now, voice high pitched and absolutely furious. She took two quick steps towards Liam, gripping his arm so hard it would leave a bruise on any human body. He let himself be dragged towards the door, his father and Theo following close behind. None of the hunters moved.

Liam was scared his mother might have turned into an alpha because he could swear her eyes were shifting red of anger as she pushed him outside. “You tell me what the fuck is happening right now, Liam Dunbar!”

“Mum-”

“Mason, get the fuck out of here and why the hell do you have a knife?!”

“I’m sorry Mrs. Gayer”, Mason excused himself quickly, stumbling over his own feet as he hurried back the direction he came from. Corey was nowhere to be seen. That fucker, going invisible when shit went down.

“Who the fuck are you?” Jenna was pointing Isaac in the face with a long, judging finger.

Isaac stared at her, eyes jumping from her to Liam, not sure what to do next. “Isaac Lahey, ma'am.”

“I suggest you run home to your parents before I call the police.”

Isaac opened and closed his mouth like a fish. “I don’t have any parents.”

Jenna stared at him for a long moment. “Then where do you live?”

“Melissa McCall’s place, ma’am.”

“Then I suggest you run home to McCall and I’ll have a talk with her later. Go!”

Isaac nodded with no argumentation and Liam gave him a short nod before he started to run down the road. Jenna noticed the nod, but didn’t say anything about it. She glanced over at Theo. “And you, if I ever see you near my son again, we’re gonna have a problem.”

For the first time since Liam met him, Theo looked absolutely stunned. He had clearly no idea what to reply or how he was supposed to deal with any of this. He ran his fingers through his hair, shifting on his feet. “Look-” he tried.

“No, you look. If I see your face anywhere near my son or my house, I’m calling the police. And trust me, I know the sheriff pretty well. I’ll make your life a living hell. Liam, get in the car.”

Liam blinked up at Theo, trying to form any words. “I’ll call”, he said.

“No, you won’t”, his mother said, giving him a push towards the vehicle. 

Liam’s father had just been standing behind them the entire time, not uttered a word. Liam guessed it was for the best. “Go with Mason”, Liam shouted at Theo before his mother shut the passenger door in his face, “for safety!”

Theo just nodded at him, but didn’t move a muscle as his mother sped away, top speed, without another word.

 

-

 

His dad didn’t stick around. He mumbled something like  _ I can’t deal with this crap right now  _ and left Liam and his mother alone as they entered the house in silence. Jenna had calmed down, but her shoulders were still tight and her jaw clenched. Liam felt like he was ten years old again and had accidentally punched a hole in the wall.

The living room was empty and dark, the smell of ham from their breakfast was still hanging in the air, but Liam knew it was only his overpowered senses that could smell it. Speaking off, all his senses was heightened, looking out for any change in his mother’s heartbeat or behaviour. His wolf wanted to either run away or bare his throat like a submissive puppy.

“Sit”, his mother sighed. Her voice was tired. She pointed over to the couch in the living room.

Liam did as told. He wasn’t going to argue now. All his mind could think of was how he was going to explain this to her. He knew he had no choice but to tell the truth, it was time and there would literally never be any better moment than right there. 

“Mum, look…”

His mum silenced him with a wave of her hand. “Liam, I know there’s crazy shit happening in this town, and I’ve seen things I don’t even want to believe. I know you’re a part of it but… please?”

For some reason, Liam just wanted to cry. “Please what?”

“I… I don’t know. I’m so confused my head is gonna explode. Just tell me what‘s going on, do I need to be worried about you?”

She sat down next to him and put a warm, caring hand on his thigh. Liam sighed. “I don’t know.”

“You make no sense”, she continued, her voice now calm and soft, “you haven’t in a long time, not since we moved here. I didn’t want to say anything because I was afraid whatever was changing you would go away.”

“It’s Scott”, Liam admitted quietly.

His mum blinked at him. “You’re in a relationship with Scott?”

“Yeah. I mean no! No. Not like that! Ew, mum!” Liam stared at her almost horrified.

A slight smile spread across her lips. “Okay, then. What does Scott have to do with this?”

Liam bit the inner side of his lips, trying to come up with a good starting point. Should he just shift and exclaim  _ here I am? This is me? _ Maybe do dance cover while he was on it? “Do you remember when we moved here, the accident in the hospital dad refuses to talk about? When I was at the roof with Scott?”

She nodded. “Yes?”

“Well, he bit me.”

“He bit you?”

“And then I fell to my death.”

She stared at him for a long ten seconds before letting out a heavy, slightly annoyed sigh. “I’m serious here, Liam. I need to know what's going on.”

“Me too! Look, I… close your eyes.” A different approach, maybe.

She shook her head. “I can’t believe you right now-”

“Mum!” He lifted his hands towards her face as to force her eyes closed. “Please?”

She resigned, but she didn’t look very happy about it. Leaning back in the couch, she put her hands over her eyes and shrugged slightly, as to tell him  _ what next? _

Liam breathed in heavily, letting go of the nervous, angry and confused feelings hiding deep in his bones, the fear of his parents finding out who he really is. He let go of that fear, because now he had no choice. Stretching his fingers out, he let his claws grow on his nails, and saw his vision starting to blur before turning clear as ice. He didn’t let himself shift completely, he didn’t want his mother to get a heart attack in front of him, or worse; disown him and run away.

“Open”, he mumbled between fangs and braced himself in every way possible, his heart beating so loudly, echoing in his head so loud he thought it was going to jump out from his ears.

She removed her hands way too slowly for Liam’s nerves to be pleased, and kept her eyes closed for another few seconds before slowly looking up at her son. No,  _ staring _ up at her son.

Liam didn’t know how long they were sitting there. Him, with fangs out, a bit too much hair on his face, claws out and eyes bright yellow. Her, mouth wide open and heart pumping loudly, eyes searching every part of his face like she was looking for a logical explanation. Liam wanted to turn away and run, he had to force himself with every free will he had to not move a muscle. He tried thinking of something else, what was Theo doing? But it didn’t work, not when his mother’s piercing eyes held him hostage.

After what felt like hours, she finally made a move. Slowly, so slowly, she lifted her hand towards his cheek, letting a soft hand run down his rough skin. Liam let out the breath he had been holding in. A shaky, unsteady breath. 

Jenna nodded slowly and Liam wouldn’t have seen it if his eyes weren’t fixed on her reaction. “Okay”, she breathed out quietly.

Liam swallowed thickly. “You’re not… scared?”

She nodded. “I am”, she admitted, whispering, “but baby, I’ve seen so many unexplainable things in this town, I’ve been through it all. I’m not… Liam, you’re my son and I love you.”

“Love you too, mum”, he took a deep breath and watched as a single tear ran down her cheek, “I’m one of the good guys, I promise.”

She chuckled tiredly. “I know you are. This is…. Scott’s fault?”

“Not his fault, mum. He saved my life. If he wouldn’t have bitten me I’d fallen to my death.”

She nodded. “Does it hurt? Are you a…?”

“Werewolf”, he said and he realised how stupid it sounded, “it doesn’t hurt, I promise.”

“Mason too?” she mumbled, still in disbelief. Her hand hadn’t left his cheek.

“No, he’s human. It’s me, Scott, Theo, Corey, Malia. And the guy Isaac that you met. And a few others that you probably don’t know.”

She nodded. “You’re all…. werewolves?”

He shook his head, trying to form words she would understand. “No. Scott is the alpha, he bit me so I’m his beta, and so is Isaac. Malia is a… werecoyote. Theo is a mix between a werewolf and a werecoyote and Corey.... is a charmeleon.”

She huffed out a nervous laugh. “A charmeleon?”

“Uh… you know when a lot of teenagers got killed a year or so back?”

“Hard to forget.” Jenna finally let her hand fall, but intertwined her fingers with Liam’s, not seemingly caring about his claws.

“Theo.... Theo was created. You know, some scientists kidnapped him and changed him from human to a mix between a wolf and a coyote to create the perfect…. the perfect supernatural creature. But they didn’t think he was good enough, so they tried with others as well. All these teenagers were failed experiments by these scientists.”

She swallowed loudly. “You stopped them?”

He nodded quickly. “Yes. My pack and I stopped them. Corey was one of the experiments, and Hayden? She was one too.”

Jenna leaned back against the couch once again, closing her eyes. Liam listened as her heart was trying to steady in her chest. “This is too much, Liam. I don’t think I want to know more. It’s gonna take some time to process this.”

“I understand”, he sighed, “if you want me out of the house-”

“No, no, no”, she replied quickly, “don’t say that. I’m never letting you out of my sight again. I meant that I don’t think I wanna know all you been through. Not yet, at least. It’s too much right now.” She bit her lip. “But, are you in danger now?”

He hesitated, but decided it was for the best to just tell her. “I think so. Amelia is a hunter, who works with killing supernatural creatures. Theo and I thought they kidnapped you to get to us and we tried to save you. That’s why Isaac, Mason and Corey came bursting in like that.”

“Amelia is… bad?”

He nodded. “Very bad. She wrote another name on that note to lure us over to her house. Her son, Nolan, he was a hunter as well, but then he changed and became part of the pack. But now he found out his parents wants me dead so he’s… confused.”

“Oh god”, she mumbled, “what am I supposed to do? How can I keep you safe?”

“I’m keeping you safe, mum.”

She shook her head, lips tightly pressed together. “Liam, you’re my son. It’s my job to keep you safe. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”

“Maybe… maybe speak to the Sheriff? And Melissa McCall? They both know and are a part of this.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to them. But I don’t want you going anywhere right now, okay? Not until I know how to protect you from this.”

“Mum, I have to-”

“No.” 

Jenna leaned forward to grab his wrists. Liam sighed, finally letting his eyes go back to his normal color, his body relaxing against his mother’s touch. She watched her now seemingly human son with intense eyes. “You stay put.”

“Can I invite Theo?” he asked, “he’s in danger too and I can’t have him be out there unprotected.”

“Can’t he stay with Melissa McCall too, like that Isaac boy?”

Liam hesitated and had to hold back a laugh, “they don’t really get along. She wouldn’t let him into her home.”

“Oh. Okay… Fine. As long as you both stay here.”

Liam nodded, exhaling deeply. “I promise.”

A sudden look of worry spread across Jenna’s face and she tilted her head. “And what the hell do we tell your father?”

 

-

 

**To: Theo**

You ok?

 

**From: Theo**

Yeah, you? She didn’t kill you?

 

**To: Theo**

It went alright…. i think. Come over? 

 

**From: Theo**

On my way.

 

-

 

The doorbell rang like it was on fucking fire when Theo came up to the door. Liam heard it was him as soon as his car pulled in the driveway. He yawned loudly, forcing himself to get up from the extremely comfortable position he had found himself in on the couch.

His mother left about an hour ago, after a quick phone call with Melissa McCall it was decided that she would come over and discuss… parenting a supernatural child, or something like that. It had gone exceptionally well, Liam thought. Actually, it couldn’t have gone much better. He wasn’t dead, he wasn’t disowned and his mother actually did what she had to do to make sure she got the information she needed about the abrupt change of the world she thought she knew.

The doorbell rang again and Liam groaned loudly. “I’m coming!” he yelled.

Theo was looking his usual, attractive self as Liam slammed the door open. “Don’t you have any patience?”

“Nope”, he agreed, walking Liam inside and closed the door behind them. “Any of your parents home?”

“No, why-?”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence before Theo pushed him against the wall behind him, one strong hand on his shoulder and the other one finding his waist where his t-shirt was pulled up enough for Theo to touch bare skin. Liam barely got the chance to process what was going on before Theo pressed their lips together.

_ Fucking finally. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOP finally I guess??? 
> 
> I believe by now so much shit has happened in beacon hills that Liam's mother just... wouldn't bee too shocked. I hope you agree with me lol.
> 
> thank you all for your love and comments, it means soooo much!!


	18. Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo takes the next step and Liam really deserves a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for your lovely comment and feedback!! I really appreciate it. im not entirely happy with this chapter but I hope it will do. its a bit shorter too, but I had to end it here for the dramatic effect... but next one is already half written so hopefully it doesn't take forever to update again! LOVE

Liam stumbled backwards, hand searching for anything to steady himself on as Theo pressed him up against the wall. His hands were roaming down his sides, his lips attacking the side of his neck, nails nipping on his skin. Liam’s brain was short circuiting.

Theo’s lips were so fucking soft, moving so perfectly, so _right,_ against his hot skin. He felt like he was burning everywhere Theo was touching him; his light touches setting his entire mind on fire. His eyes were hungry, dark, desperate, and Liam was probably looking double that.

Shit. This was actually happening. This was real. And it was so much better than anything he could dream of.

Liam gripped his waist, pulling their bodies together. A groan slipped out Theo and Liam swallowed it hungrily, running his tongue against his lower lip, asking for entrance. Theo obliged immediately. He let his hand run up his sides, fingers lifting his shirt up in the process as their tongues slid together for the first time.

Theo’ skin was burning hot against his fingertips and Liam pressed harder, wanting to get as close as possible. He pulled his lips away for just a moment, meeting the dark, lust filled gaze of the man he’d wanted to kiss the fuck out for so, so long now. For a moment, they just watched each other, before Liam tangled his finger in his hair, bringing their hips together and suddenly they were kissing again. Soft touches quickly turned desperate and Theo let his teeth grasp against his lip. His hands were under Liam’s shirt, impatiently tugging the material, claws digging into his skin.

Liam would never say it out loud, but _fuck,_ if the pain spiraling down his spine didn’t turn him on more than he’d like to admit. He let Theo’s locks slip from his fingers as the older boy lifted the hem of Liam’s shirt. He glanced up at the boy he had pressed up against the wall, searching any kind of approval and all Liam could do was nod like an idiot. A slight, cocky smirk spread across Theo’s plumb lips and he pulled it over his head before backing a step to pull off his own. Liam let his gaze run up and down Theo’s well trained body and fuck, if he didn’t want hands, lips and teeth all over _that._ Not wasting another second, Liam grabbed their hips, pulling their cocks together and an involuntary moan slipped through his lips. The sensation was hot and burning and Theo was watching him hungrily, biting his the inner side of his blumb, now beautifully red lips.

Theo moved his mouth, licking down the side of his neck and Liam threw his head back the best he could, giving the chimera full access to to whatever the hell he wanted because there was nothing, absolutely nothing, Liam would say no to in that moment.

“Liam”, Theo groaned, a sloppy sound filling the silence as he pulled back. Heavy breaths and loud, fast heartbeats were echoing in his hallway. The arousal was so thick in the air Liam wanted to live in it forever.

“Yeah?” Liam breathed back, managing to drag his gaze up from his lips to his eyes.

“Bedroom, or I’ll fuck you on the floor.”

Liam was dreaming again. Yep, this was definitely a dream. There was no way Theo was standing in front of him, hair a mess on his head, naked chest pressing up against him and eyes dark and filled with lust. Lust for _him._

“Fuck me on the floor”, was all Liam’s brain could think of, especially since all he could concentrate on was Theo’s cock pressed up against his thigh. Holy _fuck._

Theo stared at him and for a moment Liam thought he said something too desperate, but then Theo nodded frantically. “Yeah, yeah, fuck- I-”

Liam’s phone rang.

“Wait”, he mumbled, but didn’t make any effort to stop Theo as he bit down his collarbone, hands holding his waist steadily.

“Don’t answer”, Theo warned him, voice hoarse, almost like a growl. A shiver ran down Liam’s spine.

If he wasn’t in the middle of a hunter war, and had just sent over his mother to Melissa McCall to discuss his supernatural side, he’d thrown the phone so far away he would never find it again. “What if it’s important?” he groaned, hands tangling into the hair on the back of Theo’s head.

“Who is it?” Theo glanced up at him under long lashes.

Liam fumbled and managed to get his phone from his back pocket with shaky hands. “Isaac”, he read out loud, letting out a groan of frustration as he pressed the answer button. “This better be good or-”

“ _GET OUT OF THERE!_ ”

Liam froze. Theo did as well, slowly standing up straight and was the one to answer. “What?”

“They’re coming, get the fuck out of there now!”

In the same moment Liam’s horny brain managed to understand what Isaac was trying to communicate to him, he heard three cars, wheels roaring as they slid into his driveway. Theo’s eyes were big as he met his, and then everything happened fast. Too fast.

Theo was pushing Liam forward, towards the back exit, their shirts in his hand. Liam head the car doors slam open and footsteps were quickly approaching the door. Then the echoing of guns loading filled his head.

They stumbled out the back, Liam tripping over his own feet and would have fallen down the stairs if Theo’s strong hands hadn’t kept him on his feet. Just behind his house, a few big bushes were strategically placed to keep neighbours from stalking them. Theo pushed him down on the ground, crawling over dirt, trying to find cover in the big, green branches. Liam was right beside him, spitting out the taste of earth filling his mouth after accidentally having his mouth too wide open in surprise as he was thrown on the ground.

Theo didn’t say a word, but he didn’t have to. Liam felt like he was going to explode. From inside, a loud bang as the door was kicked open filled his ears and he had to forcefully dig his claws into the ground to keep himself from running back in, protecting his home, protecting his den. His wolf was howling, screaming, yelling; demanding he went back protecting what was his. But on the other hand, what he really needed to protect was right next to him.

Theo.

His mother was safe. His pack was safe. The boy he cared so deeply for was right next to him and that was where he needed to stay.

Then, before he could consider what that really meant for him, the guns started to go off. It was some kind of automatic weapon; bullets were raining, windows shattering and angry screams, curses and threats filled every part of his body. Liam thought he was going to explode as he threw his head on the ground, hands covering his ears to block out what to his heightened senses sounded like a bomb exploding.

Theo was hovering over him, covering his body with his own as shatter of glass flew in every direction. Liam wanted to push him away, be the one to protect _him,_ but he was scared. He was honest to god scared, absolutely terrified.

Then, just as sudden as it begun, it stopped; wheels yelling as the cars drove away as quickly as they appeared. Liam wasn’t sure how long they stayed there, shirtless on the wet ground, breathing heavily as a smokey smell from the hundreds of fired bullets filled the air.

Theo was the one to move first. Slowly, extremely carefully, he moved away from Liam. “You okay?” he whispered, voice breaking.

Liam swallowed thickly. It was hard to breathe, hard to think. “I think so”, he got out, “you?” He glanced up at him, seeking any kind of comfort in his eyes but didn’t find any. Theo looked as scared as he felt.

Theo pulled a face, twisting his body so his back was facing Liam’s. Blood was dripping down his left shoulder where a big piece of glass had cut deep into his skin. “Pull it out?”

Liam bit his lip and did as told. He felt Theo’s body clench up at the sudden pain, but he quickly covered it with a soft, sad smile. “That was close.”

Liam breathed out a chuckle. “I don’t even wanna look.”

But he did, he had to, especially as the sirens started to echo on the street. He heard people rushing out from their homes to see what was going on, he heard panicked screams, whispers, questions about terror attacks. When he heard Sheriff Stilinski calling out his name, voice filled with so much fear and anger, Liam had to force himself up on his feet. He reached for his shirt, pulling it over his head as he walked up to face the damage.

There was glass everywhere. Bullet holes in his walls, in his door, on the furniture he could see through the broken windows. Liam took a deep breath. It wasn’t only anger rising in him, it was fear. Absolute terror as to what would have happened if Isaac hadn’t called to warn them.

He guessed around fifty people had gathered around his house as Liam and Theo got around the corner, dirt covering painted on their bodies like a work from Jackson Pollock. He tried his best to ignore the stares and pointing fingers, and concentrated on Noah Stilinski’s eyes as they grew three times their size when he spotted them, hurrying over the glass-filled grass to meet them with his arms open.

“Liam!” he exclaimed, the relief clear in his voice as he pulled Liam into a big hug.“thank God you’re okay! Theo, you too. What happened, do you know who did this?”

Liam nodded, clenching his jaw, giving the Sheriff a half-hearted hug back. “Yeah. We just made it out.”

“I can’t believe this. This is absolutely insane. Is your parents here?”

Liam shook his head. “No. Dad’s at work and mum’s at Melissa McCall’s place.”

“Thank _god._ Do you know who’s responsible for this? I’m going to put them so deep behind bars they will never see sunlight again.” Stilinski spoke with his teeth pressed together, spitting the words out.

“Nolan Holloway’s parents. At least they’re behind it. It’s the same with Monroe, you can’t prove it.” Theo was speaking now.

“I don’t care about proving. If it costs me my job-”

“No”, Liam shook his head, too tired to even think clearly. He just needed to get out of there. “Just… just don’t.”

Theo met his gaze and nodded towards his car, clearly thinking the same as him.

“Boys, you know you need to stay for witness-”

Theo waved him off. “We’ll be back.”

Sheriff Stilinski protested, but he didn’t try to stop them as Theo lead them towards his car. Liam just had to get away.

 

-

 

“I’m coming home. Getting in the car now.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No!” Liam almost yelled. Scott went quiet on the other end of the phone. He had called only minutes after Liam and Theo had found a half empty motel they could spend the night in. He had called his parents on the way there, making sure they were all okay, begging his mother to come up with whatever explanation she wanted to his father, he just had to get out. She had agreed, after a long discussion, and promised they’d spend the night at the McCall house. Apparently her and Melissa had gotten along very well.

“Liam, are you in your right mind? You need me.” Scott was making sense.

“I know that”, Liam groaned, “I just… I just need to fix this alone. I can’t risk your life as well, and your future.”

Scott snorted on the other end, clearly taking offense to his comment. “Me protecting my pack isn’t risking my future. It’s keeping my family safe. It’s what I do, Liam.”

“I know”, he said again, because he did. He really did. “So am I. Please, believe I can do this by myself.”

Scott let out a sigh, his voice soft as he replied. “I know you can”, he said calmly, “I’m just saying you don’t have to. That’s what pack is for, Liam. You’re stronger with me, you all are.”

He knew that as well. “Yes, but it’s just… Give me one more day, please. Just one day.”

Scott groaned loudly. “One day?”

“One day.”

“Fine”, he agreed, “one day, then I’m coming home.”

“Deal.”

“Tell Theo I’m going to kick his ass if anything happens to you.”

Liam glanced over at Theo sitting in the king sized bed next to him. “He’s here”, Liam said, “just so you know.”

“I know”, Scott said softly, “keep each other safe. Text me if anything comes up, alright?”

“Yeah”, Liam promised before ending the call with his alpha.

He was tired, extremely tired, and just wanted to go to sleep. The moon was almost full, shining in through their half open window. They had driven almost an hour to get there and Liam knew he should have just stayed to protect his friends and his family but he just couldn’t. He couldn’t.

Mason and Corey was on another hotel, they had assured him, hiding until they were back. Isaac could mind his own business as he stayed with McCall and Liam’s parents. Speaking off, the beta was the first one Liam called as they drove away from the chaotic site that was once a beautiful house. He had rambled for over five minutes, not knowing how to properly thank him for saving both their lives. Isaac had quickly excused the apology, telling them it was Nolan who had gotten in contact with him to warn them.

So, Liam was sitting with his phone in his hand, fingers hovering over the letters as he tried to come up with a good enough message to send to the boy.

 

**To: Nolan H.**

_Hey. Thanks for saving our lives._

 

He glanced at Theo for approval. Theo shook his head. Liam tried again.

 

**To: Nolan H.**

_Heard what you did for us today. Thank you. You saved our lives. Call if you need anything._

 

“Too cheesy?” Liam hesitated.

“Well, you want him on your side, don’t you?”

Liam shrugged and sent the text before he could regret it. His body felt heavy, like he weighed a ton more than usual. He wasn’t sure what he was experiencing was shock or just utter distress.

It was dark in the room. Silent. No lights were on and they had no neighbours in the rooms around them. Theo breathed in heavily. “I’m sorry you have to go through this.”

Liam glanced up at him. “I’m sorry you have to go through this, too.”

Theo shook his head slowly, “no. It’s your house, your family. You’re the target. I’m sorry for this.”

“Not your fault”, Liam mumbled.

Theo shrugged and leaned in to press a soft kiss to his forehead. Liam closed his eyes, leaning in to the gentle touch. It was short, but Theo made sure to linger. “Let’s go to sleep”, he suggested, and Liam wasn’t going to argue with that.

He fell asleep with Theo’s strong arms wrapped around his body. He fell asleep, finally feeling calm enough to completely relax against someone he trusted, someone he loved. He fell asleep to the familiar scent of home and complete trust.

He fell asleep happy.

 

-

 

3:04am.

Liam woke up just as the door was kicked open. Even in the dark, he recognized the eyes of Nolan’s mother. Cold, wide open and filled with unexplainable hatred.

He should have moved. He really should have, but he couldn’t bring his body to get up. Maybe it was what he deserved, after all. At least dying meant he didn’t have to deal with the constant gnawing fear, anger and frustration growing stronger in his chest by each day.

Amelia held her gun in the direction of his chest.

Theo was awake now, too, but it was too late. As he rolled out from bed, Amelia had already fired and was halfway out the door. Liam barely felt the pain as the red wolfsbane bullet his his left shoulder and he was thrown backwards, down in the mattress.

His vision started to blur, but he could see Theo stopping in the door and instead of running after her, he fell down on his side. His eyes were wet. Tears? Liam couldn’t tell. He just wanted to rest for a bit.

“ _Liam? Liam!”_ Theo was yelling, or maybe he was imagining things. “ _Stay awake! Liam, you’re not dying on me. I’ll kill you if you die on me. Look at me, look at me!”_

Liam wanted to meet his gorgeous eyes, but he was so tired. So, extremely tired.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!! if you have anything to say or if you just wanna say hi, feel free to leave a comment ♡
> 
> you can find me on tumblr [@thrashton ](http://thrashton.tumblr.com)♡


	19. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam relives Theo’s memories while slipping in and out of consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PSA: this chapter will be explained with teen wolf logic further on, promise! 
> 
> Soo. Im back! Also my laptop broke. Hopefully I can get it fixed by Friday so I can start writing again... I wrote this whole thing at work so I’m sorry if it’s a bit messy. Hope you enjoy!

“Theo!” someone was yelling, “Theo!”

Liam blinked, confused, trying to adjust the light beaming into his eyes. He looked around himself and realized he had no idea where he was. A bright yellow color was covering the walls in what started to look like a kitchen. An extremely dirty kitchen. Food everywhere and the sink was a complete mess. A few balloons were lying on the floor, and a bunch or gifts were wrapped in a pile on the kitchen table. Next to the table, a woman was standing. She had her hands against her sides and looked pissed.

Her her was light brown and very long, almost down to her waist. It was middle parted and hung down her chest. “Theo!” the woman yelled again.

Liam turned around, but Theo wasn’t there. “Sorry, where I am?” he asked, taking a step towards her.

The woman completely ignored him, her lips pressing together hard. Liam frowned, walking up to stand in front of her. “Excuse me?”

She looked right through him. Liam felt the panic starting to raise in his chest, heart pumping faster. “Excuse me, ma'am? Do you see me? Where am I?”

“There you are!” she replied, but it wasn’t to him. She stepped next to him, staring accusingly at the young boy stepping into the kitchen.

Liam would recognize Theo everywhere. He was young, maybe around six, his hair a brown mess on his head and lips pouting like he didn’t agree with the angry tone the woman - his mother? - had. He crossed small arms across his chest.

“What?” he asked her, voice high pitched and… and young.

Liam could just stare.

“Would you like to explain this?” his mother said through gritted teeth, pointing to the gifts on the table. It was only then Liam noticed the holes in the wrapping paper.

“No”, Theo said.

“Theo, it’s your sister’s birthday, this is her gifts. Why are you opening her gifts?”

“Because I don’t want her to get nicer things than me.”

His mother sighed deeply, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. “It doesn’t work like that. It’s her day, her gifts, what she wished for. You can choose what you want on your own birthday.”

“It’s unfair if she gets stuff and I don’t”, Theo insisted angrily.

Liam watched them back and forth, not sure if he should stay or leave or what the hell was going on.

“How many gifts did she get on your birthday?”

Theo was quiet for a moment, then he muttered, “no one.”

“So, if we’re being fair, how many should you get on her birthday?”

“But-”

“No buts”, she insisted, “now go apologize to your sister for opening her gifts.”

Theo groaned loudly, “no, mum! Unfair! I can fix it. I don’t want to apologize-”

She held up her hand and Theo went quiet. “I’m not having this. You, go apologize and then fix her gifts. You have one hour.”

Before young Theo had a chance to reply, his mother left him in the kitchen. Theo stared at the door where she disappeared out for a long time, looking like was thinking over what just happened. 

Liam didn’t move, he just watched as Theo sneaked up to the table, eyes scanning the gifts, picking a small one. He looked behind his back one more time, then he put it in his pocket and proceeded to go find his sister to apologize. 

Liam was just about to follow, when his legs suddenly failed him, a shocking pain flowing through his chest up to his shoulder and suddenly everything went black. 

 

-

 

_Was someone carrying him? Maybe, it was hard to tell. He tried to see, but his vision was dark and faded. It was hard to concentrate._

_Strong arms were holding his body, Theo’s scent filling his lungs. At first, it felt safe, he felt like home in his tight grip. But Theo reeked of anger, though. Like complete fury, anxiety and desperation. Liam wanted to ask why, but he couldn’t keep his eyes open._

 

-

 

“Are you sure it’s a good idea?”

Liam opened his eyes widely, a shocked gasp passing through his lips. The scent of freshly baked cinnamon rolls filled his head. It smelled like Melissa McCall’s making, he’d eaten at least fifty of her perfect, amazing, cinnamon buns the past year.

As he glanced around, he realised that he was correct. He was sitting on the floor in Scott’s old kitchen. Behind the counter, a young Theo was hiding, and next to him Scott and Stiles were sitting. Without a doubt, Lima recognized them immediately. He moved closer so he could get a better look at the three children hiding. He would guess they were around ten at the time of the memory; or whatever it was Liam was experiencing. 

“Scotty, it’s fine. Daddy can buy new ones.”

“You can’t just buy rolls”, Theo insisted, “not Melissas!”

“She won’t notice”, Stiles nodded frantically, “Scotty, come on! Please!” 

Scott pouted, brows furrowed. He was clearly considering whatever the two other boys wanted him to do.

Scott got up on his feet and glanced over at the buns on the counter. “There’s… ten. And if we take one, there’s… seven left.”

“She won’t know”, Stiles decided for them all and reached up, quickly grabbed three of the rolls and started to run across the room, an unstoppable giggle leaving his small body. Theo and Scott ran after and got halfway up the stairs before Melissa’s familiar face was seen from the opening to the living room.

“Boys, no running!” she warned them, voice soft.

“Sorry mum!” Scott yelled back.

“What’s in your hands, Stiles?” Melissa asked, raising her brows and putting her hands on her hips.

Stiles started to stutter out an excuse, but Theo silenced him with a hand on his shoulder, a calm, almost scary, smile on his face. “It’s just a project for school, ma’am.”

Melissa let out a laugh, “ma’am? Theo, darling. You know you can call me Melissa.”

Theo smiled brightly back, but the cold eyes Liam knew so well was present and he let out a shaky breath. How long had Theo been like this? Been like… like Theo?  

“Of course. Sorry, Melissa.”

She rolled her eyes and let them alone again, and Stiles stared up with wide eyes at Theo. “You are a genius”, the tiny, slim boy exclaimed and a sudden brightness and happiness flashed through Theo’s eyes at the compliment. He suddenly looked like the brightest star in heaven.

“Thanks!” he said happily and grinned widely. He pointed at the cinnamon buns. “Let’s go!”

Scott let out a loud celebration and led the way up the stairs. Liam took two steps at the time, following them up to Scott’s room. The three friends were sitting in a circle, sounds of satisfactions slipping out from each one of them between taking bites of the cinnamon buns. Theo looked genuinely happy, it had to be before his sister died. 

“It’s like”, Stiles began, swallowing down, “when we saw the game with your dad.” He pointed at Scott.

Scott laughed. “We ate so many buns. I had a belly ache for like, five weeks.”

Stiles almost howled out a high pitched sound, “no, it was like one hour then you ate more!”

“You ate a lot too”, Scott insisted, “like, more than me.”

“Not even close”, Stiles pouted. “You had five more.”

And that one sided conversation continued for a good ten minutes, and the light in Theo’s eyes had faded. He sat quietly watching them, eyes darting from each boy and down to the folded hands in his lap. Liam felt bad for him, he understood how hard it had to be to be friends with Scott and Stiles, considering how close and good friends they were, and how many memories they had without Theo.

Liam hesitated, but then reached out to place a hand on Theo’s shoulder. The young boy didn’t react at all, he just kept staring down at his hands, shoulders low, reeking of a sudden sadness.

 

-

 

_He was in a car. At least, that was what the screeching wheels were telling him. In the backseat, probably, because in the front he could hear a voice - Theo? - arguing with someone on the phone. It sounded like Scott on the other end, could it be? Liam wanted to say hi, to greet his alpha, but he couldn’t get his muscles to work with him._

_He saw the shadow of Theo behind the wheel, meeting his eyes in the rear view window. He smiled slightly, but there was no happiness. “You’ll be okay”, Liam thought he heard him say. He wasn’t sure, because he never saw his lips moving._

 

-

 

The next time Liam woke up, he was in a forest. It was dark. The sky was clouded and the light of the moon barely made its way through the branches of the thick grown trees. Where was he?

Liam looked around, stumbling up on his feet, legs feeling weak. His throat was thick as he tried to swallow the saliva in his mouth. His head was aching as well, feeling like it was about to explode at any minute.

Liam looked around. The scent filling the air was somehow familiar. Was he in Beacon Hills? Maybe. 

A movement on his right. Liam snapped his head up. Theo was sitting there. How had he missed that?

He had been crying, clearly. His eyes looked red in the dull light and he was holding his arms around his legs, shivering slightly from the cold breeze. Liam took a few slow steps on unsteady legs towards him. “Hey”, he whispered. He didn’t know why.

Of course, the boy didn’t answer. He was still young, but it was hard to make out exactly what age in the dark. Liam couldn’t get his wolf-senses to cooperate with him, so he had to squint his eyes to see clearly.

A break of a twig caught both their attention. Liam, being taller, saw the three figures between the trees before Theo did, and he didn’t have to think twice to understand who he was looking at.

Their masks looked way cleaner than what he was used to, a metallic shine reflected in the moonlight. They walked slowly, The Surgeon walking in front. Liam would recognize his cane anywhere.

He couldn’t stop the cold shiver running down his spine when all the memories of the death, panic and destruction they had brought to Liam’s life and to the town he lived in.

He stood frozen as they stopped mid-step a few meters away from Theo. The young boy watched them without fair, only confusion written across his face as his eyes darted up and down their dark, mysterious clothing.

“Who are you?” Theo asked, voice clear. Liam couldn’t hear any fear in it.

The Surgeon tilted his head. “Who are you?” he repeated.

Theo frowned. “I’m Theo.”

Liam watched as the scientists looked at each other, seemingly having a conversation that couldn’t be heard with their ears. Maybe his wolf hearing would be able to pick it up, but he couldn’t concentrate enough.

“We require your help, Theo.”

Theo tilted his head. “With what?”

Liam took a step towards them, “no”, he breathed out, and to his surprise, the dread doctors masked faced all snapped up towards him and Liam could swear they were staring right at him.

He froze. His body felt cold, unnatural. He couldn’t move. The Surgeon looked down at Theo again. “You feel alone”, he said, voice surprisingly human, “lonely. No one knows you.”

Theo stared back at them, but didn’t say anything.

“No one puts you first. You’re not the favourite child. Not the favourite friend. You have nobody. Am I wrong?”

Slowly, uncertain, Theo shook his head.

The Surgeon nodded. “Why else would you be sitting here alone? You feel like nothing. Empty, worthless, weak. You don’t have to be.”

Theo stood up. “What do you mean?”

“We can help you. If you help us. We can help you grow stronger, be better, feel bigger. We only require one thing of you.”

“What’s that?” 

“To help us fulfill your sister’s greatest wish.”

“Tara?” he asked surprisingly. 

Liam clenched his jaw. “Don’t listen to them”, he begged, “Theo, they trying to trick you-”

His throat closed down, making it almost impossible to speak. Liam choked, trying to force a breath past  his lips. His legs gave out and he stumbled down, hands first on the dirty ground below him. He could feel the warm sensation of the blood dripping from his rasped palms.

“Theo!” he yelled, but the boy couldn’t hear him. Couldn’t see him. “Theo!”

“She asked us to help you gain power”, The Surgeon said, voice suddenly louder like he was trying to speak over Liam’s desperate screams, “she asked us one simple thing.”

“What?” Theo breathed.

“To help you take her heart.”

 

-

 

_ Taking her heart? Liam needed more, he needed answers, but there was no way to make himself understood as Theo was carrying him upstairs. He couldn’t make out what house he was in, but he could hear several panicked voices downstairs. He wanted to tell them it was fine, he was just experiencing some weird dreams and was just about to wake up.  _

_ But, just as before, no voice came out when he tried to speak. Instead, his eyes rolled backward and the world went black.  _

 

_ - _

 

Liam blinked repeatedly, trying to make something out of the blurred lights in front of him. Slowly, the shape of a dark lit room started to take form. Liam looked around, realising he was standing in a room belonging to someone young. 

Posters of football players and old 70s and 80s bands were covering the walls, trophies and pictures of natures placed in a glass-shelf next to the only big window.

He got up quickly, frantically looking around, searching for Theo;  searching for answers.

On the other side of the window, a big mirror was standing on the floor. In front of it, Theo was staring at himself. He looked a bit older now, maybe fourteen or fifteen, Liam would guess.

He moved slowly, glancing out through the window. He didn’t recognize the street below them, so he guessed he wasn’t in Beacon Hills anymore.

If Theo was older, that would mean his sister was dead, he had her heart and he had moved from Beacon Hills. He couldn’t have stopped it, he wasn’t meant to stop it; just to watch, to see how it happened. Liam looked over at the teen in front of the mirror again.

Theo was just staring at himself, jaw clenched. His left eye was slightly closed and Liam could see the black-purple-blue-ish skin covering the right side of his face, all the way from his cheek up to his eye. He’d been in a fight, apparently.

Theo lifted his fingers to run the tips down his face with a light touch. Maybe he was waiting for it to heal?

Before Liam had a chance to think the possibility over, the door swung open. It took both him and Theo by surprise, and the new chimera stumbled backwards as his father - Liam guessed - bursted into the room. He reeked of alcohol in a way that made Liam’s stomach twist.

“What’s that?” his father asked, slurring on the  _ s _ . He pointed an accusing, unsteady finger towards Theo’s cheek.

“Nothing, dad. Knock before you come in.” His voice was calm and strained.

“Janice, come look at your son!” 

Theo said nothing as a few moments went by and footsteps belonging to the same woman Liam had seen before reached the door. Her hair was shorter now, only just above her shoulders. It looked like it had been bleached way too many times, a dirty blonde mess on her head. She looked tired, extremely exhausted. Maybe that was what losing a child did to you.

“Theo, honey, what happened to your face?” Her voice was soft, concerned and it made Liam a bit calmer. He had been scared that he got the black eye from his parents.

She stepped up to her son, gently placing his cheeks in her hands. “Oh, honey, who did this to you?”

Theo stepped back, away from her touch. He was staring down at the floor. “No one, mum. Can you leave me alone?”

His father was shaking his head. “This ain’t a joke son, if people are beating you up-”

“Leave me alone!” Theo was yelling now., loud and voice thick. 

Janice and his father exchanged a look before giving out a sigh at the same time. “Theo, we know times have been rough for you since your sister’s passing, but-”

“I don’t care about her!” Theo was still yelling, angry tears starting to burn in his eyes, “I don’t care, just leave me alone!”

“You don’t mean that-” Janice tried.

“I don’t care! What else do you want me to say? Am I not clear enough?”

Janice clenched her jaw, straightened her back and left the room without another word. Theo’s father was still standing, shaking his head slowly, eyes dark and sad.

“One day”, he said low, “you will realise how much you hurt your mother and you will regret it for the rest of your life.”

“It’s not my fault she’s dead”, Theo said. He truly sounded like he believed those words.

“You know my opinion”, his father said sharply, “and it won’t change. I know we don’t talk much anymore, Theo, but for the love of God stop doing this to your mother. She’s been through enough.”

“She doesn’t care about me.”

His father snorted. “You’re the only thing she has left, how can you say that?”

“You don’t care about me”, Theo said instead and his father tilted his head to the side and made a move to leave the room, but before he closed the door behind him, he said;

“Don’t punish your mother because of that.”

Theo didn’t react to his harsh words, but Liam could see anger and confusion flash through his eyes, and as soon as the door was closed, he breathed out heavily, his eyes shifting uncontrollably from yellow and his normal, blue color. Theo sank down on the floor next to his mirror, staring at his own reflection with his yellow eyes as the skin around his eye started to heal.  

Controlling his power and his healing at an age that low? Impressive. Liam always knew Theo had full control, but this impressed him even more. 

The young chimera let out a deep breath and got up on his feet, stared at the door for a second and Liam guessed he was listening if someone was outside. Then, he made his way over to the window, opened it, and jumped out. 

Liam stared out as Theo disappeared into the forest. His chest felt heavy. 

 

-

 

_ There was was a lot of voices around him. The loud, angry one belonged to Theo, he knew. The other, soft one belonged to a woman. His mother, maybe? Mason was somewhere in there’s too, and if he wasn’t imagining it all, Scott was speaking in a sharp tone.  _

_ He wanted to understand what they were saying, but he couldn’t make out sentences.  _

_ Someone reaches over to him where he was lyin in the bed, grabbing his arm tightly. It was definitely Scott. _

_ ”This might hurt”, he said. _

 

_ -  _

 

Liam was running. He wasn’t sure why he was running, but he was.

It was still dark, he was still in the woods. What was he running from? Because he  _ was  _ running from something, escaping something his body knew he had to get away from. His pulse was echoing in his ears, his chest pumping like he’d been running for a very long time without rest. 

He felt absolutely terrified. What was going on? He tried to look around, but his body didn’t seem to work with his will. He couldn’t get his eyes or head to move, he could only keep running.

Why did he feel so weak? Why was the world so big? Something was wrong. Very wrong. Finally, his eyes darted down to his arms. 

Those arms weren’t his.

“Theo!”

He looked behind him, flinching at his mother’s desperate, sad, tone. His mother? What was going on?

He kept running, but had slowed down.

“Theo, it isn’t your fault”, his mother yelled, “please, don’t run. Please baby, don’t make me lose you too!”

He stopped, pressing his lips tightly together. A lone tear fell from his eye, slowly making its way down his cheek. It wasn’t forever. It just just for a while, he had to get out.

Just for a while.

He couldn’t let his sister die for nothing. This what what she wanted, what she wished for. Theo had done what he was asked and it was his time to shine, his time to come back stronger, faster, better. He’d come back not feeling alone anymore. Just as his sister wanted.

He was nodding, as to convince himself of his thoughts, and then he started running again. He’d come back.

He’d come back soon.

 

-

 

Liam was lying in Scott McCall’s bedroom. In his bed. He blinked slowly, his head feeling heavy and thick, not being able to put the situation together.

Was this another memory, another dream? No. This felt different. Someone was sitting on the bed next to him, looking right into his eyes. Scott. It was Scott.

A sudden shot of pain pierced through his body and Liam pulled a face. His shoulder felt like it was on fire. He was sweaty, trying his best to keep himself awake.

“Hey”, Scott whispered, “glad you’re awake. This won’t take much of the pain away, but I hope you can hear me. We’ll find a cure, Liam, okay? We’ll find it. I won’t let you die, I promise.”

Scott grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. Liam could barely feel the touch. He felt like throwing up.

“I’m gonna go get you some water”, he said softly, “this one over there haven’t left your side. I’ll leave you alone.” Scott nodded towards his chair, where Theo was sitting.

Real Theo. Adult Theo. Theo, with his eyes half open and jaw clenched. He almost looked angry. Liam barely noticed Scott leaving the room, it took all his power to stay awake long enough as Theo slowly got up and sank down next to him, placing a warm, familiar hand on his sweaty cheek.

Liam tried to smile, but he wasn’t sure it worked out. “I-” Liam cleared his throat, “I saw you.”

Theo smiled, but there was no happiness in his smile. “I’m gonna kill Amelia, and I’m going to bring a cure back to you.”

“No”, Liam got out, voice raspy, “I  _ saw  _ you. Small you. Forest, with the doctors. Stealing buns with Stiles and Scott. Running from your parents. Stealing your sisters birthday gifts.”

Theo just stared at him, not saying a word. Liam knew he was watching him for any sign of a lie, but he wouldn’t find any. “It doesn't matter”, he said suddenly, “we can talk about it when you’re better. Listen, Liam. I’ll bring the cure back, whatever it costs.”

“Don’t risk your life for me”, Liam got out, his vision starting to fade, the silhouette of Theo in his bed becoming more and more unclear.

He saw Theo shake his head. “You’re the only thing that matters to me”, Theo said before Liam sank deep into dreamless sleep.

Liam would be thankful that he chose that moment to drift away if he knew Dr. Deaton entered the room just a few moments later, eyes filled with sadness as he looked at Theo holding his hand tightly.  _ “24 hours. We got 24 hours, maximum.” _


	20. Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam fights for his life as his pack tries to find a cure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woooho finally!! so my laptop broke and i finally got a new one today!! and i could finally finish the chapter, god!! it's been so long. sorry if I'm a bit rusty lmao

**24 HOURS LEFT**

Theo glanced over at Scott and Derek. He was leaning back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and foot impatiently tapping against the floor. He knew he was annoying both of them but he couldn’t bring himself to care, not even a tiny bit.

“Would you quit it?” Derek snapped, glaring up at him. His angry stare didn’t bite on Theo.

“Would you hurry up?” Theo returned the snappy tone.

Derek glared at him for a few more seconds before deciding he should be ignored. Theo didn’t let the annoyance show on his face.

Scott and Derek were trying to map out the places the hunters might have any clues or any associates who could help them get the cure in time for Liam to survive.

Just the fact that in 24 hours the only person Theo had been willing to sacrifice anything for for as long as he could remember, would be dead. Great. Truly fantastic. If they didn’t find anything in the next hours Theo would personally find Amelia and rip her head off, and then he’d follow with everyone she ever loved, including Nolan.

“Are you just gonna stand there being useless?” Scott asked him, glancing up from the map on the table in front of them.

Theo raised his brows. “I’m being useless? You’re the one looking over the same god damn map five hundred times.”

“You’re the one who thinks killing Amelia will save Liam.”

“Threatening to kill her might”, Theo snorted, “at least there’s a bigger chance than this.”

“We’re doing everything we can! Isaac is out searching, Deaton is trying to find out more from the pack Isaac met, Mason and Corey are researching, Stiles is doing what he can and looking through similar FBI cases! Even Malia and Peter is doing their part!”

Theo clenched his jaw. “What’s your point?”

“My point is you’re doing nothing considering how worried you say you are.”

He stared back at Scott’s challenging stance. He knew the alpha didn’t mean the harsh tone he was giving him - but that didn’t make it less real. “You’re saying I don’t care about him?”

“I’m saying you have a win in this as well”, Scott got out through gritted teeth. Derek glanced between them, not sure if to intervene or not.

“My win”, Theo said in a voice he considered calm, “is Liam surviving this.”

“And your personal gain?” Scott pressed on.

Theo took a deep breath, calming himself down. There was no idea to take this fight, not here, not now, because in less than 24 hours Liam would be dead and fighting with his alpha wouldn’t change that.

“Is Liam surviving”, Theo repeated, “now excuse me, I’m going to find something that will actually save him.”

 

-

**20 HOURS LEFT**

There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. They tried fire - burning the poison out, but it only seemed to hurt the werewolf and when Theo couldn’t stand seeing Liam’s body squirm in pain and helpless screams left his lips, he demanded that they stopped. Liam’s eyes had flattered open and he had tried to say something to him - but it was impossible to hear any words in his mumbles. Not that he’d ever admit it, but it felt like a punch to his stomach, knowing he might not hear his last words.

Theo tried his best to both ignore and avoid Scott and the rest of the pack since he knew there was no way they’d understand what he was feeling, nor what he and Liam had. Theo wasn’t sure himself, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to explain himself to someone who didn’t deserve to hear it.

He had to admit it had been almost heartwarming to see Scott’s reaction as he bursted through the doors when he got home and almost stumbled right into Isaac, who apparently hadn’t told his alpha he was back in Beacon Hills. Scott yelped like a surprised cat, stared at him for what felt like an eternity before finally throwing both arms in the air and hugging the curly haired boy so tightly he’d squeeze the air out of him if he was human. But as much as they both wanted to catch up, Theo had to remind them about the more important situations, like the dying boy upstairs for example.

Theo glanced over at the door. He was sitting in the kitchen, a book about mythical herbs in front of him, when the sound of footsteps ruined his concentration. He could hear it was Scott, it was no mistaking the annoying way he walked in. Theo rolled his eyes and sat up straight in his chair. Scott entered the room with a sad smile on his lips.

”Hey”, he said.

”What?” Theo replied. He didn’t have time to deal with his accusations about not caring for Liam.

”Just checking in to see if you found something.” Scott shifted his weight on his feet.

”No. Only that fire cures, but that doesn’t help us.”

“No, it doesn’t”, Scott agreed slowly, “Deaton might have found something, a survivor. He’s following the lead right now. And Stiles is on his way down with some knowledge and FBI contacts so… we have a few leads.”

Theo nodded slowly. “What about Mason and Corey?”

“They’re still researching. Mason has this idea if he finds why fire won’t cure it, we can start from there.”

It wasn’t a terrible idea, but Theo didn’t say his thoughts out loud. “Good. Did you want something else?”

Scott chewed on his lips. He was reeking of stress and anxiety but Theo couldn’t tell if it was because of the whole Liam was dying situation or something else.

“Yeah, I… I went to see Liam.”

Theo tilted his head. “Yes?”

“And he said some weird things.”

Theo hesitated, because he might have a clue what Scott was talking about. He had tried to ignore it, but as Scott stood there looking like a nervous wreck, it brought him back to what Liam had told him. That he _saw_.

Theo had neither confirmed or denied his words, mostly because his mind couldn’t come up with any explanation to why Liam was experiencing his memories. But also because his memories were a scary place, and the one year of memories he was missing was not something he wanted someone else to find before he did.

When Theo and his family left Beacon Hills after his sister’s death, their relationship slowly grew more and more toxic, and in the end Theo had no choice but to run away. The Dread Doctors had been over him everywhere, all the time. Threats hanging over his parents heads, his friends’ heads, everyone he even slightly cared about.

He had no choice to escape. At least that’s what he told himself, because for some reason he didn’t really remember why he was running away, why the cold air felt like punches against his skin and why the tears were burning in his eyes as he ran further and further away from his mother’s desperate screams.

And after that, the whole year was black. Gone. It didn’t exist. Theo of course knew the Dread Doctors had most likely clawed it out of his brain, and he would never get them back. He had tried for a long time to find a way to bring his memories back, but he couldn’t find anything that worked.

Then he gave up. He decided it wasn’t worth it. If the Dread Doctors went through the process of deleting his memories, they probably did it for a reason, and Theo didn’t want to find out. He hadn’t thought about it for a long while, not until Liam told him he saw him.

Saw him running from his mother. Just before everything else went blank. What else could he have seen?

“Us stealing your mother’s buns?” Theo suggested quietly.

Scott stared at him for a moment. “Yeah. How did he know?”

“I don’t know”, Theo shrugged, “he…” He hesitated for a moment, but decided it didn’t matter what he said as long as he didn’t spill details. “There was a few of them. Of my memories, I mean, that he’d seen.”

“He saw your memories?” Scott questioned stupidly and Theo clenched his jaw.

“I don’t know! Maybe? It sounded like it, I don’t know!”

“That’s weird. We should see if Deaton-”

“No”, Theo snapped, staring down at the book in front of him. “We need to focus on finding a fucking cure.”

Scott stayed quiet for a good minute, but he didn’t leave the room. It took a lot of willpower and stubbornness for Theo to forcefully keep himself reading down the page with Scott still staring at him.

“I’m sorry for what happened”, Scott mumbled quietly.

Theo glanced up at him, meeting his eyes. He truly looked sorry. “Sorry for what?”

“What happened”, he repeated, “with you, Stiles and I. I’m sorry.”

“Wasn’t your fault”, Theo replied, looking down at his book again. He wasn’t very keen on having that conversation.

“It was”, Scott insisted softly, “we shouldn’t have… we should have been there. Theo, your sister died.”

Theo glared at him. “I killed my sister.”

“Yes, I know! But we didn’t know that back then, you lost her, and we started ignoring you because we thought you were acting weird. Who does that?”

He shrugged. “Maybe you knew I did it.”

“We didn’t”, Scott continued, “we acted like assholes. When we stopped hanging out with you everyone thought you were a freak, you got ignored by everyone. Theo, they bullied you!”

“I could stand up for myself.”

“Absolutely! But you shouldn’t have to! We were assholes. Maybe if we didn’t….”

Theo gritted his teeth. “If you didn’t what? Freeze me out, I’d be a such an angel now? Sorry Scott, but how I am now isn’t because of you. Not everything in this world is.”

Scott shook his head slowly, “I just feel like we could have made a difference.”

Silence filled the kitchen. Theo wished for nothing else than to be left alone, but at the same time a part of him took Scott’s words, stored them properly and locked them in for safe keeping. “You were hard to be friends with”, Theo admitted quietly.

A short laugh slipped through Scott’s lips. “Because we were so weird?”

“No, because you were already brothers. I felt like I was intruding in your friendship. I never understood your references, your memories. I was just there.”

Scott almost looked hurt by his words. “We loved having you around.”

A humorless smile spread across Theo’s lips. “I know. But we were just kids, we didn’t understand.”

“I guess we didn’t”, Scott sighed.

From above, Isaac yelled something. Scott looked up the stairs behind him. “I gotta go check with him. I’ll update you if we find anything.”

Theo nodded. “Thanks.”

Scott left the room, but Theo heard how he stopped just a few steps behind the door. “Thanks for bringing Isaac home”, he heard the alpha mumble only for his ears, before taking two steps up the stairs.

 

-

**18 HOURS LEFT**

Theo sat by Liam’s bed, staring down at his sweaty face. He was drifting between being awake and asleep, eyes flickering half open and lips parting, letting puffs of heavy breaths pass his dry lips.

Theo felt his stomach turn upside down. He felt absolutely fucking terrible. He wasn’t sure why hadn’t just found Amelia and killed her yet, but something told him he had to hold on, just wait a little longer.

Someone would find something and it would be okay. Liam wouldn’t die. He couldn’t die. Theo wasn’t sure what he lived for if it wasn’t Liam, the boy who had, despite his flaws and everything he had done to them, seen the dull light in him and fought so hard to find it, to help it grow.

He had hesitated at first, he didn’t want anyone’s help, nor anyone’s pity. It didn’t take long for him to realise Liam wasn’t giving him any pity. In fact, he rather give him a punch in the face for just remembering something mean Theo said a year ago.

That’s why Theo fell in love with him. Not only because how beautiful he was, the soft way he laughed at his stupid jokes, how adorable his brows looked when he was angry, how quick he was to protect his friends, how his eyes were shining like diamonds every time they looked at each other, how his skin was burning every time they touched, how incredibly soft, sweet and caring he looked when he was quietly snoring in his sleep. No, not only that, but because of his honesty.

No one had ever been this honest with Theo before. No one had ever treated him the way Liam did; recognizing what horrible things he did and what he was capable of doing but also seeing everything else; giving him a chance to do something better.

That’s why he fell in love with the dying boy below him. Theo felt the tears burn in his eyes for the first time in years. He couldn’t remember the last time he cried, but if there was a right time, it was probably right there.

He squeezed Liam’s hand, wiping his eyes with his other hand.

Someone cleared his throat from the door. Theo quickly dropped his hand and stared up at Stiles and Scott at the door. Fuck. He hadn’t heard them coming. Without another word, Theo left the room and Liam behind him and rushed down the stairs.

He couldn’t do this. Not now.

 

-

** 15 HOURS LEFT **

“It has to be the color.”

Theo frowned. “The color?”

“Yes”, Mason said and Theo pictured him nodding like an idiot, “yes. It’s the only thing separating the flower from it closest relatives; the substance that creates the color.”

“Okay, what does that give us?” Theo dared to ask.

“Absolutely nothing”, Mason groaned loudly, “this is insane! This is totally insane, Liam is dying and I have nothing. I can’t help him! I feel like the worst person in the world!”

“I understand you”, Theo said, trying to at least sound like he gave more than two fucks.

“Stiles’ leads gave us nothing”, Corey said in the background, “Scott just texted. I guess we have Deaton left.”

Theo rested his forehead against his right palm, the other one holding his phone against his ear. “I’ll call him.”

Mason hummed in agreement. “Sure, do that. We are going to find something on this. I’ll talk to-”

“Wait”, Theo stopped him before he could think twice. “Could you… could you see if you can find something on memory sharing?”

“Memory sharing?” Mason sounded suspicious.

“Yeah, it can be important. Just check, alright? If someone can see your memories, what does it mean?”

“Does it have to do with Liam?” Mason countered.

“Do you want him to live?” Theo snapped, “then check it out.”

He ended the call before Mason could reply. Fuck. He was really smooth. A fucking disaster, what was he really was.

This was all a fucking disaster. He didn’t even know why he wasn’t panicking, why he wasn’t running around like a maniac trying to find something to help them. Maybe he knew it wouldn’t help, that he’d just be in the way.

Theo stared at Deaton’s number on the screen before pressing the green button. The veterinarian answered in two tones.

“Deaton.”

“It’s Theo”, Theo said. He wasn’t sure why. Deaton had his number.

“Got something?” He sounded stressed and Theo immediately felt like he might be interrupting.

“No, I was checking if you did.”

Deaton was silent for a while, then, “maybe, I think I found a survivor. She says she can’t remember if the flower was red or purple, though.”

“Okay”, Theo mumbled, “find out.”

“I will. Check back soon.” _Click_.

Theo groaned loudly. A fucking disaster. Which was why it wasn’t a bad idea to try every possible angle, which was also why he ended up with his thumb hovering over the send button as he stared down at the text he had formed on his phone.

 

**_To: Nolan H._ **

_Hi. Liam is dying because your mother shot him. We don’t have much time left, if you know something please tell us or he’ll die. You know I wouldn’t normally be begging._

_T.R_

-

 

**12 HOURS LEFT**

Stiles was biting his lower lips hard enough to draw blood, the familiar scent oozing in the anxiety filled room. They were gathered in Scott’s bedroom where Liam was lying in the bed. His heart rate was sky-rocketing and with any small change, every supernatural creature in the room winced and nervously looked his direction.

“Anything?” Scott asked his best friend.

Stiles shook his head, pouting. “No. Deaton said she can’t remember the color of the flower, she remembers seeing both, so we don’t know whether it really was the red wolfsbane or not.”

“Let’s say it is”, Scott said, “how did she cured it?”

“She says fire, which makes me think it wasn’t the right flower. Because fire didn’t help Liam.”

Mason let out a pained moan. “Why don’t we have _anything?_ ”

“Because this thing kills everything in its way”, Stiles sighed, “I mean, apparently! I didn’t mean to be negative. We’ll find something, it’s fine.”

A small yelp left Liam’s lips and Theo automatically reached his hand out to place it over his. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to keep any sort of contact with the boy. Liam’s eyes fluttered open and he met Theo’s gaze. If he wasn’t imagining it, it looked like Liam relaxed when their eyes met.

“I’m sorry”, Liam said, voice clear as ever. Theo froze as he felt the younger boy squeeze his hands. “Theo, I’m so sorry.”

Theo stared at him, an uncomfortable panic starting to grow in his chest. He was absolutely certain he didn’t want to hear this.

“For what?” Scott said and Theo wanted to punch him.

“You didn’t deserve that”, Liam whispered now, his hand falling onto the blanket underneath them, his grip of Theo’s hand loosening. “No one deserves to go through that.”

“Go through what?” Scott pressed and Theo got up from the bed, backing away from the bed slowly. His brain was spinning, what the fuck was he talking about? Go through what? He needed to get out of there fast.

“You parents, I’m so sorry”, Liam got out through gritted teeth before his eyes rolled into his head and he fell back into unconsciousness.  

Theo’s back hit the wall. He was staring at the younger boy, eyes wide open. He knew everyone was looking at him now, looking for any kind of answer. His ears were ringing, his chest heaving with every breath he took.

Fuck.

“Theo, what is he talking about?” Scott asked, a warning tone clear in his voice. Theo’s eyes found the door, his way out, but Scott realised what he was thinking of doing. “Don’t run, Theo. What is he talking about?”

“I need to go”, Theo growled, finally getting his feet to move towards the door.

“No!” Scott growled back, eyes flashing red at him. Theo didn’t scare. “Tell me.”

“I don’t know”, Theo admitted through gritted teeth, “I have no fucking clue.”

“Of course you do!” Stiles exclaimed loudly, “why are you arguing about this when Liam’s life-”

“I don’t fucking know!” Theo yelled at him, not even bothering to keep him calm now. This was too much. He had to get out. “I don’t know what happened to my parents, those memories were clawed out of my brain, okay? I have no fucking clue to what he’s on about!”

Silence filled the room. Theo didn’t stay to find out what would be said next, he made his escape out the door and down the stairs.

Fuck.

 

-

**8 HOURS LEFT**

Theo stared at the boy in the doorway. Sure, it was him that basically invited him over, but he had no idea what to do or how to react when Nolan was actually standing outside Scott’s door.

He was torn between killing the guy and ripping his limbs off and get down on his knees and beg him to find a cure through his parents.

“What do you want?” Theo settled for, tone threatening.

Nolan saw right through him, saw how tired and exhausted he really was. “I’m here to help.”

“We don’t need it.”

Nolan frowned. “You told me to come.”

“I-” He did, actually. “Fine. Do you have something?”

Nolan nodded. “Yeah. Gather everyone?”

 

-

**7 HOURS LEFT**

They were all sitting spread out across the kitchen table. Nolan was shifting on his feet, looking incredibly nervous. Theo feared he’d pass out.

“Uh”, Nolan said, “I haven’t told my mum. Or anything. I just… I just remember something she said.”

“And?” Theo waved his hand.

“She once told me to always have two types of wolfsbane on me”, Nolan said slowly, looking at each of the confused faces across the table.

Corey sighed, clearly annoyed with where this was going. “You wasted an hour to get us all together to tell us that?” He almost spit out. Theo saw Mason sliding his arm around his waist in a pointless try to calm him down.

“No. I mean, yes”, Nolan tried, clearing his throat, “but not like that. She said they need to balance each other.”

“It doesn’t tell us anything”, Scott complained, “why-”

“Wait”, Mason and Stiles said in union. Mason was the one to continue. “Balance each other…  maybe... do you guys know why flowers have such intense colors?”

“There’s no time for a biology lesson”, Theo growled at him, but Mason just waved him away.

“It attracts bees and birds to help them reproduce. The brighter the color - the more attractive, right? Do you know any brighter color than red? It’s one of the most powerful colors in nature; plant eaters might find it scary looking and choose something easier, and bees and birds are drawn to it. It’s the top survivor color!”

“So?” Theo pressed, “how does that help Liam?”

Stiles took over. “Didn’t Deaton say his surviving victim didn’t remember if it was red or purple wolfsbane?”

“He did”, Theo said slowly, “what, you’re telling us there was both?”

“Dark purple isn’t very attractive to pollinators”, Mason said, “and it isn’t very intimidating for anyone looking for a snack.”

“So, the attractive red flower, and the ugly purple one; they balance each other”, Stiles agreed, “cancel each other out?”

“So you’re telling me we need to poison him again?” Theo wanted to laugh. “That’s fucking stupid.”

“I think he’s right”, Isaac said, “it does make sense. If they get mixed together, if they balance each other out, we should be able to burn the rest out.”

“It doesn’t make any sense!”, Theo exclaimed, “how can plants balance each other out?”

“How does werewolves exist?” Nolan countered. Theo stared back at him, carefully considering punching the small smile off his face.

“It doesn’t matter _how_ ”, Scott said, “all that matters is we should try.”

“Okay”, Theo clenched his jaw, “who has some purple wolfsbane?”

 

-

**6 HOURS LEFT**

Mason grabbed his arm just as they were about the exit the room. A long discussion and a few phone calls later, Chris Argent managed to get hold of an old friend who had some purple wolfsbane to share. Scott, Isaac and Derek went to meet him.

Theo wasn’t sure he was a fan of this plan, but he had to admit he had nothing else to come with. After Mason’s long, biological explanation about how flowers and their defense system worked, he felt a bit calmer. Maybe it was some logic and science in what they were trying to pull off.

Liam wasn’t going to die. Not now.

“Hey”, Mason mumbled, “I looked into that memory sharing stuff you asked me to.”

Theo froze. “Yes?”

“I found a few reasons for accidental memory sharing, but it’s very different depending on what religion or myth you look into. I found one that was more interesting than the rest, though. I left a book in your car, it was unlocked.”

Theo forced a smile. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” He hesitated like he wanted to say something more. “Hey, Theo…?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you love him? Liam, I mean?”

Theo met his questioning gaze. “Maybe.”

Mason’s lips curved into a soft smile. It was the only genuine happiness Theo had seen all day. “Cool. You’re... good for each other.”

 

-

**4 HOURS LEFT**

Scott placed the purple wolfsbane on the bed next to Liam. The boy on the bed was pale, lying completely still. He had stopped shifting in his sleep, stopped fluttering his eyes open. His heartbeat was alarmingly slow and Theo knew he’d be dead long ago if it wasn’t for his inner wolf trying its best to heal itself.

“How do we do this?” Scott asked, “just pour it in?”

“Just pour it in”, Mason nodded, “now. I don’t think we have too much time left.”

Theo looked down at the boy who had been the center of his life for the past… since he met him. He did his best to ignore the gnawing worry filling his chest. He reached down to grab his hand, wrapping their fingers together.

There was no sign of life in his fingers, nothing that told Theo Liam was aware of his surroundings. “Do it”, he whispered, voice thick with tears.

Fuck. Not now.

Scott grabbed a hand-full of the purple-ish powder, wrinkling his nose in disgust and discomfort as he accidentally breathed in the few particles floating in the air.

Theo let out a shaky breath, and held Liam’s hand tightly as Isaac, who sat on the other side of the bed, slowly got the bandage off Liam’s shoulder. A nasty, clearly infected wound covered half his shoulder, red smoke oozing from the rather small puncturing hole.

Scott met Theo’s eyes as to ask for consent. Theo nodded, not questioning why Scott would ask him. It was his beta.

And the only person who mattered to Theo.

Scott held his hand above the wound, let out one shaky breath before pressing his palm, filled with the powder, down the wound.

Theo wasn’t sure what he expected, but it wasn’t Liam’s eyes suddenly widening twice his normal size, and the boy flying up to a sitting position like an arrow being fired. A loud, pained and desperate scream echoed through the walls of Scott’s room and Theo used every ounce of willpower he had to use his hands to keep Liam down instead of covering his ears.

“Liam!” Theo yelled.

Liam didn’t answer. He kept screaming, his arms fighting against his alpha, his lover and his fellow beta as he tried to get free, tried to do _something._ And then, without another word, his whole body relaxed as he fell down, head hitting the pillow underneath him, unconscious.

Panicked silence filled the air and for a long moment, no one dared to move.

“Is he dead?” Stiles asked, voice barely a whisper.

No. Theo could hear a faint heartbeat. He shook his head.

“Fire?” Mason suggested, voice just as low.

“Wait”, Scott held his hand up, “wait…”

Theo realised he was holding Liam’s hand so hard he had broken a few bones. “Is this supposed to happen?”

Nolan took a few, careful steps across the room. “See, it’s not oozing, there’s no smoke.”

“Balancing each other?” Mason suggested.

“Fire”, Theo growled.

Scott reached for the lighter and stared at the flame in his hand before lowering it down to his chest.

An explosion of colors filled the air. In any other situation, Theo would have found it beautiful, but coming from the hole in Liam’s shoulder, it was absolutely terrifying. Theo pressed his teeth together hard to stop any whining sound about to pass his lips.

Liam’s body was spasming. He was shaking uncontrollably, eyes rolled to the back of his head and sweat dripping from every pore on his body. He looked like he was dying, like his body was giving the last of its power to try to survive. 

Theo was crying. He knew he was crying, he could taste the salt on his lips, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Liam’s body finally went still, but his eyes remained closed. A slow heartbeat still echoed in Theo’s ears and he hoped he wasn’t imagining it.

“Liam?” Scott tried carefully, “can you hear me?”

No reaction from the boy. He looked peaceful, lying there. Pain wasn’t written on his face anymore, Theo noticed. He looked dead.

“Is this supposed to happen?” Mason whimpered, “Liam, bro, you in there?”

Theo lifted the back on his hand to wipe the tears off his cheeks. He hoped no one had realised he was crying.

No one seemed to find any right words to say. No one really knew what just did, whether or not it worked or not. Whether or not Liam was dead or not.

What he was going to do if Liam didn’t make it, Theo had no idea. Nothing else than the boy below him mattered. He didn’t care what happened to him as long as Liam would be alive and safe. And now it seemed like Liam was the only one who could help him remember what happened to his parents, why he couldn’t remember what happened but still know so surely they were dead.

“Hey”, a low, raspy voice interrupted his thoughts and brought Theo back to reality. Liam was smiling up at him; tiredly. “Why’d you break my hand?”

Theo couldn’t stop the small chuckle leaving his lips. _Thank God._


	21. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam deals with the aftermath of being shot and Theo tries to find the truth about his parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im SO sorry this took forever!!! i promise ill be quicker next time!! thank you so much for your kind words per usual, it keeps me going!!! four chapters left!! i love you ALL

Liam eyed Theo suspiciously. His whole body was aching and he was pretty sure death would be more comfortable than the position he was in right there; Theo’s sleeping body half on top of him, a drip of drool hanging from the side of his mouth.

Suspicious. 

Liam poked his side. He didn’t want to wake the sleeping beauty but his arm was actually dying and he was pretty sure it was going to fall off if Theo didn’t move.

“Theo!” he whispered, “wake up!”

Theo groaned, nuzzling his face down the blanket covering Liam’s body. “No.”

“Theo, watch out! Hunter!”

Theo’s whole body flew off the bed much like a rocket, eyes wide as he quickly searched the room to locate and kill whatever threat was facing upon them. Not that he’d find any, Liam just knew how to wake him up properly.

“Dick move”, Theo groaned as he realized Liam was just faking it. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands. “You were nicer when you were asleep.”

“You didn’t think so when I almost died.”

“But you didn’t”, Theo pointed out, a soft smile spreading across his lips. God, Liam had missed that. The sweet, soft and pure look he got in his eyes every time they looked at each other. The warm feeling streaming down his blood every time they touched. 

“No. I didn’t.” Liam lifted himself up to a sitting position in Scott’s bed. His head was on the verge of exploding, aching with every move he made. “What did you guys do with me? I feel like crap.”

Theo looked at him with a serious face. “You don’t remember?”

Liam pouted. “Should I?”

“Oh…” Theo looked away briefly, “we had to make Malia bite you.”

A cold shiver ran up his spine and he narrowed his eyes on Theo. “Sorry, what?”

“What do you mean what?” Theo frowned, “it was the only way to save you. I thought you’d be happy being a chimera.”

Liam stared at him for a long moment. A chimera? Like Theo? But he didn’t feel any different, he- “You’re joking.” It wasn’t a question.

The big, toothy grin spreading across Theo’s face told him he was right. “Fuck!” Theo laughed loudly, his bright eyes making Liam forget any worry in the world. How could anything be wrong when those eyes looked at him like  _ that _ ? Like he was the center of the universe? “I couldn’t keep it up. Damn, what are you doing to me, I can’t lie to you!”

He said it as a joke, but his words made Liam giggle like a little girl. “Would be something, though.” He glanced up at Theo and the older boy nodded in agreement.

“Yeah.” A slight hesitation, then, “I didn’t kill her.”

“Who?”

“Amelia.”

“I didn’t expect you to.”

“Because I- what?” Theo sounded genuially surprised, like he’d expect Liam to be furious. “She almost killed you, Liam. If she did, I’d go after anyone she ever looked twice at.”

“I know”, Liam smiled, “I know, that’s why I didn’t expect you to now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well”, Liam sighed, “why didn’t you go after her?”

Theo looked at him like he was the one being stupid. “Because it’d take unnecessary time from finding a cure.”

Liam gestured towards him. “Voila!”

“So what, you knew I wouldn’t go after her because you knew I wanted to save your sorry ass?”

Liam couldn’t stop his face splitting into a grin at Theo’s pouting face. Clearly, he had learn, the chimera didn’t like being outed for his more… loving gestures.

“Believe it or not”, Liam shrugged, still grinning, “I do trust you, you know?”

“That’s stupid”, Theo looked anywhere but at him.

“So if I said I wanted you to kiss me now, would that be stupid too?”

Theo wasn’t quick enough to hide his smile. “Yeah, very stupid.”

“...but?”

Theo rolled his eyes and lifted his hand to his face. He let his fingers run down his chin, soft, warm and safe, and settled on each side of his neck. “Stupid, but you’re right.”

Liam let his eyes fall closed as Theo softly pressed their lips together. Theo let the kiss linger, running his fingertips down his neck. Liam shivered as he pulled away slightly, “thank you”, he mumbled against his lips. The pain he was feeling was gone the second they touched, the second Theo’s energy practically melted into him.

He could feel Theo smiling. “You’re welcome.”

Theo crawled into the bed space next to him, letting Liam’s head fall down on his chest. He breathed in heavily, the scent of Theo filling his senses. God, he had missed him. He barely remembered the time he was out of it, but he knew his whole body was aching after Theo’s touch. The small gasp leaving his lips as Theo ran his hand down his arm couldn’t be stopped even if he wanted to.

“So”, Liam whispered, nuzzling closer into his neck where the scent was strongest, “what did happen?”

Theo hummed quietly, still letting his hand run up and down Liam’s arm, “we cancelled the wolfsbane with another wolfsbane. Don’t ask me, ask Stiles or Scott for details. All I know is we poured some dark purple wolfsbane in there and you lived.”

“Huh”, Liam pouted, “you poisoned me again?” 

“That’s what I said!”, Theo exclaimed, “but yeah, we did. It was Nolan’s idea.”

Liam froze. “Nolan? Is he here?”

“Don’t know where he is now”, Theo admitted and glanced down to meet his gaze, “but he was before. Good thing I didn’t kill him before letting him talk.”

Liam snorted, “very.”

They fell silent for a while and Liam knew he’d drift away to sleep any moment now. He felt safe; happy even though his entire body was aching and he felt like he had been hit by a truck.

He had no memory of the past days, everything from when Amelia shot him until he woke up in his bed, sweating like an ocean, was blank. Gone. Lost. Everything, except the memories of Theo. Theo escaping his parents, Theo meeting the dread doctors, Theo stealing freshly baked buns with Stiles and Scott.

All was Theo. It was blurry; confusing, but it was definitely Theo.

“Hey”, Liam stared.

“Don’t”, Theo cut him off, voice suddenly sharp, “just… don’t.”

Liam frowned up at him, “why not? You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

Theo clenched his jaw, “your face already says enough. Look, Liam. Those memories-”

“I just wanted to know if they’re real”, Liam mumbled. Theo’s hands were wrapping tighter around his wrist.

“I don’t know. They stole all memories of my parents after the move.” It was clear in his voice that the words were forced. Liam knew Theo wasn’t the one opening up about things that clearly made him uncomfortable, so whatever he was saying now Liam was knew was progress.

“What about those with Scott and Stiles, were they real?”

“Wait”, Theo tilted his head, his heartbeat speeding slightly, “what did you see?”

And Liam told him. He told him every single detail he remembered. Everything from what Melissa was wearing to what his father smelled like. Theo watched him in silence the entire time, his face giving no clues to whatever was going on in his head and Liam had never wished more that he could read minds. He wanted to grab his shoulders, shake him hard and yell at him to open up, that it was okay to show trust.

Opening up didn’t mean showing weakness.

Theo let a sigh pass his lips, “those are real”, he nodded, “I… uh. Those are real.”

Liam looked up at him, shifting on his chest to get a better visual of his face. “Then what memory did you talk about before? What was it you don’t wanna talk about?”

“Nothing”, Theo said, eyes glued to something behind him.

“Theo…”

“Nothing”, Theo snorted again, “it’s nothing, alright? Stop being annoying.”

“I’m not being annoying”, Liam rolled his eyes, “you’re being annoying. I’m just asking you to open up-”

“I don’t what to open up!” His voice was louder now; more harsh. 

Finally, their eyes met. Liam pushed himself off his chest and into a sitting position. “If you don’t wanna talk to me, we’re never gonna work together.”

Theo bit together, hard. His eyes were cold and dark and Liam didn’t like it one bit. It didn’t get better as he moved to leave the bed. “Theo-” Liam tried.

Theo shook him away with his hand, lips pressed tightly together as he moved away from Liam. “We’re not together”, Theo growled at him, “so stop trying to get into my head. You and I are not a thing.”

Liam didn’t say anything when Theo left the room.

 

-

 

Liam woke up again a few hours later. The sun was starting to set outside the window and the dull, orange light was shining through his - or, well; Scott’s - blinds. It was a beautiful evening, the sky was cloud free and the air was hot, Liam noticed as he pushed his upper body out the window to get some fresh air. 

The room itself was on the other hand chilly and dark. And quiet. An hour or so before, Scott had been there in him, talking to him and telling him how grateful he was that he survived, but Liam had been too tired to fully woke up and answer him. Eventually, when Scott realised he wasn’t going to have much of a conversation he squeezed Liam’s arm and left.

Theo hadn’t come back. Liam’s chest felt tight, most of the pain had drifted away thanks to his ability to heal,, but his chest felt tight and it was hard to breathe. He recognized the feeling from when he lost Hayden the first time.

He knew what Theo said was out of anger and confusion, but it still hurt. It hurt because maybe they wouldn’t be the most romantic couple, but Liam deserved some respect and trust. He wanted to ignore and forget every hurtful thing Theo said or did, but he knew he couldn’t base a relationship on lies. They had to find a way to balance each other. Liam knew they could, but it had to be mutual.

A loud bang downstairs interrupted his thoughts. Quiet voices echoed across the walls, but Liam couldn’t make out what they were saying. It was Mason, definitely. He’d recognize his voice anywhere. The other one sounded a lot like Theo but - there was no way he would be having a conversation with Mason, right?

Liam pushed himself off the bed as quietly as possible, tossing towards the door. He hoped the low squeak the door gave up when he opened it wouldn’t give him away. 

He stepped out in the dark corridor, closing his eyes to concentrate his senses on hearing what was happening downstairs. He still wasn’t strong enough to listen in without effort.

Another bang. It sounded like something was thrown on a hard surface, then - clearly - Theo’s voice rasped angily, “I don’t get it.”

A third bang. A book? Someone was turning pages, and then banged the book against what Liam guessed was a table.

“Can you sit down?”  Mason’s voice was low and serious and he was having none of Theo’s aggressive tone. “Or I’ll leave.”

“I won’t let you.”

“What are you gonna do, stop me? Good luck keeping any relation with Liam after that.”

Liam froze slightly. Were they talking about him? Theo stayed silent for a moment.

“Good”, Mason then said and Liam guessed Theo sat down. “Look, did you read the book?”

“Obviously”, Theo said, tone revealing clear annoyance. “It’s only fairytale stuff, that doesn’t help me?”

Mason groaned and Liam pictured him slamming his palm against his face. “So werewolves and everything going on in this town isn’t a fairytale for you?”

“You know what I mean”, Theo said quickly.

“You wanted me to look into memory sharing, I’m telling you this book is the closest you’re gonna get to an answer.”

Oh. Memory sharing. 

Someone was flipping through pages in a book. “Here”, Theo said, “it says soulmates. Soulmates are not real.”

“I’m not saying soulmates are real”, Mason argued. Liam was amazed over how calm he was staying; how much had he missed when he had been shot?

And soulmates? What the hell were they talking about? Obviously, it had something to do with the memories of Theo he had seen. Liam guessed Theo had asked Mason to look into it, and being the bookworm he was, he had found a book that seemed to fit the subject. Theo seemed to disagree, though.

“Then what the hell are you saying?”

“Look. All the monsters we’ve seen, they haven’t looked or acted like they did in all mythology, right? Right. Ignore the word soulmate, that’s not the point, Theo. Look at this, read this.”

Silence for another while and Liam had never wished more he could become invisible so he could see what they were reading. 

“A bond”, Theo said after a while. His voice was platonic. 

“Like an anchor”, Mason agreed, “there’s anchors, then there’s true anchors. Like an alpha and a true alpha, you know?”

“That makes no sense.”

“It does, even if your tiny brain don’t get it.”

Liam snorted out a laugh.  Mason sighed before he continued, “there’s alpha’s, who get their power from stealing it, killing the former alpha or inherit the ability as the former alpha dies naturally. Then there’s a true alpha, someone who earns their power, solely on the strength or their character and sheer willpower. Which is very rare, Scott’s one in a hundred years. We agree to that, right?”

“Yeah”, Theo said, “we agree to that.” 

“Cool. Good. Then there’s a anchor. Something that a werewolf - or any supernatural creature - can concentrate on to keep themselves human. Like someone you love, someone that means a lot to you or someone that affected you in a strong way. Or, maybe an object. A feeling. Anger, like Derek. Or the triskelion the Hale family used.”

“What does this have to do with memory sharing?” Theo sounded impatient.

“I’m trying to get you to understand how it works, bare with me!” Mason snapped, “then we have the true anchor. Just like the true alpha, it’s something that grows on the strength of character and willpower of two people. Two people that belong together. Not necessarily romantically, stop looking at me like that.” Mason snorted loudly, “but you know as well as I do that it’s probably romantic- okay! Okay. Jeez, don’t look at me like that.”

Liam rolled his eyes, not able to stop the smile spreading across his face as Mason’s mocking tone.

“So what, you’re telling me Liam’s my true anchor?” Theo said it as a joke, and undertone of laughter clear.

“Yes”, Mason said seriously, “that’s what I believe.”

Liam’s head was spinning slightly and he didn’t know if it was because of Mason’s words or the fact that he just got shot. He took a few careful steps closer to the stairs to be able to hear the conversation better, his heightened senses were still not performing as well as they  should. 

“Okay”, Theo said after a while, “fine. Okay, sure. What about the memory sharing?”

Mason moved around downstairs, “here”, he said, “it says that soulmates share a bond solely on strength and willpower, and the bond can grow strong enough for your mind to share moments of weakness.”

“So what, I’m gonna be able to read his mind soon? Great.”

“God, no! Are you even listening to me?” Mason groaned, “Liam was on the verge of death. His senses were open and his mind completely unprotected, and you - who is also his true anchor and already share a bond built on willpower and strength, reached out to help him find any way possible to keep him from dying.”

“What’s your point?”

“My point”, Mason’s annoyed tone echoed through the walls, “is that you allowed Liam to hold on to your memories to stay alive.”

Liam’s throat was thick. It was hard to breathe, hard to form any thoughts that made sense in his head. The memories Liam had seen were real, he had seen Theo’s childhood and what had made him the man he was today. 

It was real. And it was Theo who let him in. It was Theo that let his guard down, Theo that let him found something to hold onto to say alive. Theo saved his life.

Liam gulped as he heard Theo get up from his chair. “I allowed him? I saved him?”

Mason sighed softly. “Theo, it’s okay to open up. You don’t have to be the tough guy you put yourself out to be.”

“Think I scared him away before.” Theo’s words were forced, Liam could tell. 

Mason snorted. “You won’t scare him away even if you tried.” 

“I think I did, though. Told him we’re not a thing.”

Liam could tell Mason was looking at him. He would have those big, curious eyes that would tell your lies immediately, so there was no point in telling anything but the truth. “Well, are you? A thing, I mean.”

Theo sighed loudly and Liam could hear his heartbeat rise. He tried his best to keep his own in a steady beat to make the chimera believe he was still asleep upstairs. “Yeah”, Theo admitted, “look, I don’t do this. I don’t do relations, I don’t do trust. I definitely don’t do feelings.”

“There’s no rules to what you can or can’t do just because you were an evil bitch once.”

“Fair”, Theo laughed shortly, “but look… he makes me feel different. He makes me feel real, like I matter. But there’s always gonna be this… this darkness in me. I can’t escape from that, from the shit I’ve done and probably will do.”

“And Liam knows that”, Mason reassured and Liam wanted to give him the biggest hug he possibly could, “trust me, I wished he could fall for someone less… less you. Less murder and less psycho, but hey, not my choice.”

“Be happy slamming the book on your head would wake him up.”

Mason laughed. “Sure, scary face. He’ll forgive you, just tell him what you just told me.”

“We’ll see. But this memory sharing thing… can we do it again? Look, if you ever tell anyone this, I’ll kill you, alright? But I think he saw what happened to my parents.”

“You don’t know what happened to them?” Mason sonuded legitimately worried. Liam couldn’t help but smile. The man he loved and his best friend actually having a conversation and getting along - except for the death threat Theo just gave him - was more than he hoped to wish for.

“No”, Theo admitted, “the doctors took my memories away, but I think Liam saw them.”

Liam frowned deeply. That wasn’t true. He hadn’t seen anything else about his parents after Theo ran away from his mother in the woods. 

“Why would you think that?”

“He, uh. He grabbed my arm when he was out of it and said he was sorry about my parents, that no one deserves to go through that. I think he was talking about what happened to them.”

Liam’s breath hitched. He had no memory of this at all. No memory of what could have happened to them and no memory of grabbing his arm, but somehow, a dark, cold and absolutely devastated feeling started to creep up his chest at the thought of it and it felt vaguely familiar; like he was forgetting something he really,  _ really  _ should remember. Something that made his whole body ache with hurt, with loss. He suddenly wanted to cry.

What was he forgetting?

“I’m sorry”, Mason said, “it says nothing about how to trigger it. Maybe Deaton knows if you want to tell him.”

“No”, Theo said quickly, “it’s fine. I’ll find out myself. Thank you for finding this, Mason.”

“Oh, he’s being nice!” Mason chirped and Liam could practically hear Theo rolling his eyes.

“Won’t happen again. I’ll go see if I can find Nolan and get his permission to slit his mother’s throat.”

“That’s more like it”, Mason chuckled, “go get them, tiger.”

Liam had no time to rush up the stairs again without making a sound as Theo walked out of the room. Suddenly the chimera was standing at the bottom of the stairs in front of Liam, staring up at him.

Their eyes met and for a brief moment they just looked at each other. Liam could see all the emotions running through his eyes as Theo came to the realization he had overheard everything. He didn’t say anything; he didn’t had to. Liam gave him a short nod. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for Theo to know he was forgiven. It was okay, they would be okay.

“Thank you”, Theo mumbled, barely a whisper only for his ears to hear, before turning away to leave.

 

-

 

Liam tried to remember. He tried with every cell in his body to concentrate on that gnawing feeling of darkness in his chest he knew he had to remember, but he couldn’t get it out. He tried sitting in the dark and meditating, he tried banging his head against the wall, he tried yelling for five minutes straight.

Nothing seemed to work.

It was almost midnight and he was feeling a lot better. As soon as his supernatural powers started to kick in, the healing process was quick. There wasn’t even a scar left of what was once an infected bullet hole in his shoulder. His hearing, his vision, all his senses were back on top and if everyone’ sympathetic looks weren’t there to remember him he would be sure he just dreamt the whole thing.

“So”, Scott said. They were sitting outside his house on the porch, sipping some orange soda. “What about just storming the place?”

Nolan was sitting on his left, Theo next to Liam in front of Scott and Isaac on his right.

“That’s a bad idea”, Nolan mumbled, “look, why don’t we just sneak in and steal it? Corey can do it.”

“And if he gets caught?”

“Well… I don’t know!”

Liam sighed deeply, “I’m not letting Corey risk his life for this. There’s gotta be a better plan.”

“As long as I get to kill Amelia”, Theo shrugged and Nolan gave him a nervous look.

“I-”, Nolan started, “let’s discuss-”

“I’m killing her”, Theo cut him off, voice sharp as ice. There was no hesitation behind it and Liam wouldn’t try to stop him. He wanted the bitch dead as much as he did.

“Guys”, Scott interrupted, “let’s not take that conversation now, okay? Let’s be rational. We need to make a plan.”

“I’m with Theo, for once”, Isaac smirked, “I mean, she showed no hesitation shooting a kid in the chest.”

“Not a kid”, Liam glared at him.

“We need to show some respect, Nolan is sitting right here”, Scott remembered them, “I know she hasn’t really shown her…. friendly side. But we can’t just kill people because they piss us off.”

Theo snorted. “They tried to kill your beta.”

“But they didn’t”, Scott reminded them, “trust me, if you’d ask me yesterday I’d be leading the attack to kill her, but now we need to think rationally.”

Nolan pressed his lips together hard but didn’t add anything to the conversation. Maybe that was for the best.

“Here’s what I’m thinking”, Scott said, “we need to seperate Amelia from the wolfsbane, get her out so we can sent Corey and Isaac to sneak in and steal it.”

“I’ll draw the attention away from Corey”, Isaac said, “and he’ll steal the wolfsbane. We’ll meet up with him at an assigned destination and burn it all.”

“Who’s gonna get Amelia out, then?”

“Me”, Nolan almost whispered, “she’ll come for me.”

Liam glanced up at him, trying his best to not feel sympathetic, but it was hard. His eyes were filled with confusion and sadness and Liam just wanted to wrap his arms around him and tell it would be okay. It wasn’t his fault his mother was a murdering hunter.

“Alright, use the child as bait. I’ll buy it. What’s our part?” Theo added, clearly excited to get to the killing Amelia part of the plan.

“You, Liam, and I will keep her away, make sure she doesn’t get back when she realises Nolan tricked her. Derek is on stand-by if everything goes to hell.”

Liam nodded slowly. “Alright, it doesn’t sound too bad, actually.”

“Maybe we need to have someone else join Isaac and Corey?”

“I’ve asked Malia”, Scott mumbled, suddenly blushing, “she hasn’t replied yet, but I’m hoping she’ll help. If she doesn’t I’ll go with them.”

“She knows you’re coming”, Nolan warned, “she knows you’ll be planning something.”

Scott agreed with him. “Of course she does, that’s why we gotta play the ugly card - you. All she wants is you on her side, right?”

“She doesn’t know Liam’s alive either, right?” Theo added, “we could use that as an advantage.”

Liam smiled. Maybe this would work out after all. Maybe no one had to die.

“Absolutely”, Scott nodded, “that’s great, Theo! Anyone else got something to say?”

Liam did. “What do we do after the wolfsbane is gone? They still have guns and a terrifying leader.”

“We’re hoping not having the wolfsbane advantage over us will scare them off, or at least scatter them enough for us to scare them out of town.”

“Scare them out of town”, Liam echoed, “what a plan!”

“You and Theo can get the honours”, Scott laughed at him and Liam straightened his back.

“That’s all I ask”, Theo shrugged.

Liam hadn’t spoken to Theo in private since their conversation earlier in the morning. They hadn’t gotten a chance to talk about what Theo told him in anger, or what Liam overheard Mason and Theo discussing earlier. He had tried to get just a few minutes to get a confirmation that they were okay, everything was fine, but Theo had just made excuses or pretended not to see him.

Liam tried to act like it didn’t hurt him, but his rising heartbeat gave him away, and by the way Theo visibly flinched every time he turned Liam down, he noticed it as well.

Liam knew Theo was pushing him away because of the lost memories of his parents. He wanted to help him find them, but he also wanted to give him space. Theo had probably never trusted anyone or had the kind of connection Liam and he had - even if he wanted to deny it, which of course would make it harder for him to open up.

All Liam knew was that he didn’t want Theo to be alone when he finally figured out a way to remember, to get his memories back. If it was bad enough for the Dread Doctors to decide it was best to take them away, Liam couldn’t let Theo go through it alone.

The rumbling of a big car interrupted his thoughts, and he turned his head in time to see a black van slowly pulling up on the sidewalk just outside Scott’s house. There was only one, steady heartbeat inside. None of them moved, but Liam could see both Theo and Scott stiffen as they recognised the scent slipping through the car door. 

Amelia stepped out, a proud, big smile on her face and hands in her pockets as she slammed the door behind her. She walked up to them confidently, high heels echoing down the house walls and no weapon on her that Liam could see.

Theo was the first to slowly got up from his chair, his eyes shifting yellow. A low growl rose from his throat and Liam didn’t stop him.

Amelia didn’t seem to care nor notice his threatening stance, she just kept her eyes on Nolan. “Sweetie, you didn’t reply to my texts”, was her first words as she stopped, hands on her hips.

Nolan stared at her, eyes wide open in both surprise and shock. He gaped like a dying fish, trying to form any words to answer his mother. “No”, he settled for after a good ten seconds, voice high pitched.

Scott got up next to him. “What do you want?” His voice was sharp.

“Can’t a mother want her son to get home?”

“Not after she almost killed my friend.” No sane being would challenge an alpha who nearly lost his beta, but the woman didn’t even seem to notice the hidden threat in his voice.

Amelia raised her brows met Liam’s gaze and he didn’t miss the shot of surprise across her face, even if she hid it quickly. “Liam, good to see you alive. Seems like my bullet didn’t have enough wolfsbane in it.”

“Pity”, Liam growled, getting up next to Theo who was still watching her closely.

“I suggest you run”, Theo warned, his harsh tone sending a shiver down Liam’s spine. Fuck, why did he find that so unbelievably attractive?

“You wouldn’t kill me outside Scott’s house, would you? Now, that wouldn’t even the Sheriff be able to cover up for you.”

“Try me”, Theo spat back.

“I’m all yours, honey. Now, I’m not here to fight. I just want to get my son home again. Noley, would you please?”

Nolan was still staring and hadn’t moved a muscle. “Did you shoot him?” he asked weakly, blinking rapidly to hide the tears forming in his eyes.

“Dunbar? Yes”, Amelia shrugged, “now, would you-”

“Did you try to kill him? Was that your intention? To kill Liam?”

Amelia rolled her eyes, shifting her feet in a way that showed how much her son was annoying her. “Yes, Nolan. I did, but you already knew that, didn’t you? Now, please-”

Nolan flew up from his chair in one quick motion, hand grabbing something from his back pocket. Facing his mother again, he held the black gun in a steady grip.

Liam couldn’t tell who was more surprised. The pack, his mother, or Nolan himself. His wide eyes shifted from the gun up to his mother and back to the gun again like he couldn’t believe what he was doing. 

Liam’s breath hitched, suddenly feeling sick. He couldn’t see clearly, the silhouette of the woman barely a shadow in front of him. Liam breathed in heavily, Theo immediately noticing something was wrong. He could feel the chimera supporting his weight with a hand firmly on his back, but he couldn’t focus on anything else than the vague shadows behind Nolan’s mother. 

Three dark seemed to appear out of thin air, slowly walking up behind Amelia. Liam could only stare, his vision failing him as the shadows seemed to drift in and out from his sight. Fuck, fuck, fuck, was the only thought he could get together as he realised the shadows weren’t real. They weren’t there. No one else was seeing what he was seeing.

A drop of sweat ran down his forehead and he barely registered Theo helping him steady himself against the house wall.

Somewhere far, far away he heard Nolan’s voice as he was yelling only half a meter from him. “ _ You wanted him dead! You’re a murderer, you tried to kill my friend! You want to kill them all!” _

He could hear but not see Amelia laugh, his vision glued to the dark figures behind her holding something in their arms. It was big, it looked heavy. They were struggling. Bodies? Two bodies?

_ “You’re gonna kill me, son? You think you can kill your own mother!”  _ Amelia’s voice pierced through the darkness filling his mind. 

Definitely bodies. They rolled down the ground as the shadows let them fall from their grip. Dispersing in the dark night around them, Liam couldn’t possibly tell who it was they were holding.

_ “I can if it means my friends are safe!”  _

He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t-

A shot was fired and Liam snapped back to reality so fast he lost balance. Scott was the one to catch him before he fell to the ground, big worried eyes searching him thoroughly. 

Liam opened his eyes, the heavy feeling gone as sudden as it appeared. Blinking up, trying to get a grasp of the situation, he saw Amelia shaking her head in disappointment, turning away to walk back to the car.

Nolan was holding the smoking gun with shaking hands, tears streaming down his face. He was breathing harshly, his legs barely supporting him. As Amelia drove away, Liam spotted the hole next to the car window where Nolan’s bullet had hit.

Breathing out heavily, Liam looked around to see if Theo was alright, but he wasn’t there. He got up on his feet again, frantically looking around to see where he went; did he go after Amelia? 

No, the road was empty. He was nowhere to be seen.

Confused, the panic rising in his chest Liam spun around, “Theo!” he yelled, “Theo!”

Isaac was by his side now, his confused look didn’t calm Liam down a bit. “Where did he go?” Liam got out, voice barely a whisper as he desperately tried to find answers in Isaac’s eyes.

“I don’t know”, Isaac shook his head, “I- I didn’t see.”

Nolan fell down on his knees with a thud. His shoulders were shaking, his quiet cries the only thing filling the quiet night for a moment. Scott fell down next to him, a comforting hand on his back. “I almost killed her”, Nolan whispered thickly. 

At his words, Liam froze. “Oh no.”

Scott looked back to meet his eyes.  “What?”

“Oh no”, Liam repeated, voice failing him as staring into the forest behind the house. “I- I know what happened.”

“What do you mean?” Isaac asked carefully, placing a careful hand on his upper arm.

Liam clenched his jaw. “I know what happened to Theo’s parents.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can find me on tumblr [@thrashton ](http://thrashton.tumblr.com)♡


	22. Hidden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam tried to make Theo remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god!! i can't believe I'm back!! im sorry everyone for keeping you waiting for sooo long!! thank you so much for sticking by <3

Liam was running. Just like in his visions, in his memories of Theo running away from his parents, he ran through the thick woods. He wasn’t exactly sure of where he was running to - he just followed his body’s movements. It made him think of Lydia, how she found dead bodies without searching for him. Liam knew he was going to find Theo without really looking for him either.

But, hopefully alive. 

Liam glanced around as he let his bare feet hit the ground one at the time, it was chilly outside, the evening sun blocked out by the thick trees. As a child, Liam had always found comfort in the darkness and safety the forest gave him. He had never been afraid of the dark; opposite, actually. He had always found comfort in his surroundings.  

Maybe that was why he at first didn’t notice the big, black wolf running next to him.

He should have been surprised, maybe even scared, by the sight of the big dog, but he couldn’t help the sudden calmness spreading through his body. Theo looked absolutely majestic in his wolf form - his body moving perfectly in sync as he ran through the bushes and trees with incredible ease. He was running in full speed, dirt pushed off the ground as his big, black paws left the ground with every step. His bright yellow eyes were set on something in front of him, Liam couldn’t make out exactly what it was Theo was staring at and if he stopped to look up, he was afraid he’d lose sight of him.

Theo didn’t slow down as they ran, side by side, deeper into the woods, thick treetops covering the rays of moonlight trying to peek through. Liam didn’t think he could fall deeper for the mysterious man he’d spent so many hours with the past months, but here he was; running next to the beautiful animal and he felt more in love than he’d ever done before. 

Then, Theo noticed him. The wolf made a sudden stop and Liam almost tripped over as he tried to stop and turn around in the same motion. A flash of pain ran through his left ankle, but he knew the sprain would be healed in a matter of seconds. What was important to him now was to not lose sight of the big wolf.

Liam didn’t have to worry. Theo didn’t move a muscle, only stared at him suspiciously as he slowly moved in closer. He felt like he was stalking a prey, that any step in the wrong direction would send Theo running again.

But he didn’t. He stayed put, big eyes eyeing him down. Liam stopped in front of him, reaching out his right hand. Theo hesitated, but the pushed his head to make contact with the palm of his hand. The dark fur was soft against his skin, and Theo’s warm breath crept up his skin.

“Hey”, Liam whispered, he wasn’t sure why. He felt like the whole forest was watching them and he didn’t want anyone to intrude on their conversation.

Theo huffed, sitting down on the ground. He tilted his big head to the side and huffed out a quiet whine in response.

“You scared the fuck out of us”, Liam laughed shortly, “or, well. Me.”

Theo didn’t make a sound, only kept watching him closely, like he was trying to find out Liam’s true intentions, why he was really here.

“You feel like you know… shifting back? It, uh. It feels kind of weird talking to a wolf.”

A low, dark growl rose from the wolf’s throat and big, white teeth glimmered in the dark surrounding forest. Liam held up his hands. “Alright, alright. No shifting.”

He wasn’t sure what to say, he hadn’t had enough time to think this through. He knew he had to find Theo and stop him from disappearing for good, because he knew if he let Theo go now, he would never return to Beacon Hills and Liam would lose the man he loved forever. 

“I think I saw what you saw. Back when Amelia attacked us”, he tried carefully.

The wolf tensed up and got up from his sitting position. For a moment it looked like he was about to run, but then suddenly changed his mind. A more soft sound that Liam could only describe as desperate came from the predator and he glared up at Liam. 

“I can’t understand you”, Liam mumbled, once again letting his hand run through the soft fur. He could hear Theo’s heart beating fast under the thick coat, desperately trying to tell Liam something between low whines and a faster heartbeat. He could feel how nervous the wolf was, the anxiety starting to reek through his otherwise so well protected aura.  “What is it, Theo?”

The wolf paused, then suddenly leaped forward, biting down Liam’s arm hard. A surprised gasp left his lips as he flinched backwards as a response to the sudden pain. “What the fuck?!”

Theo tilted his head back and howled. A loud, high pitched sound that seemed to rip through the tight treetops, echoing in the dark. A shiver ran down Liam’s spine as he stared at the big animal. 

Then, Theo groaned and took off running. Liam was after him in a matter of seconds. The wolf was fast, way faster than Liam, and it hit him and there was no way Theo had been running at full speed before after all. 

It was clear to him that he wanted Liam to follow, but he was running at a speed he had a hard time keeping up with. Thank God Theo’s paws left prints bigger than his hand in the damp mud beneath his feet. He found himself drifting back to the blurry images of the three figures carrying the bodies behind Amelia back before he realised Theo was gone. A part of him knew who they were carrying in their stiff arms, but another part of him refused to believe it. It couldn’t be that easy, could it? Of course losing your parents would traumatize a child, but someone like Theo? Who killed his own sister? It didn’t seem right. It was a horrible thought, but Liam felt like it wasn’t enough. He was missing something, something huge that was just out of his grasp.

Looking up at the wolf in front of him, Liam knew Theo would know exactly what he was missing. He just hoped the chimera trusted him enough to share what happened to him. Forcing the truth out wasn’t an option, he couldn’t risk losing Theo, or lose the bond they built together.

He couldn’t risk being left alone again. 

The wolf took a sharp left and disappeared behind three huge rocks suddenly appearing in his view. Liam stopped, closing his eyes to catch the scent of the wolf. Liam let out a shaky breath, glancing up at the stars above him. It was a beautiful night.

A low rustle behind one of the rocks brought his attention back to the current situation, and Liam took slow, careful steps to see around the corner. Behind the rocks, death was all Liam could see.

The forest around him was alive, breathing and watching him. But in front of him, he saw only death. The ground was dark, almost black, and not a living thing could be spotted. Not the tiniest leaf arising from the ground. His chest felt heavy, a sudden burst of thick anxiety filling his veins. Liam tried swallowing, but his throat was too thick.

Theo was almost entirely naked, except a pair of boxers when he emerged from the dark. Liam hadn’t noticed him before.

The world was standing still, the howling forest suddenly quiet, still. Watching them closely, maybe too closely; Liam felt like the branches from the trees just outside the dead zone tried to reach in to grab him, pull him out from whatever hell he was standing in.

Theo seemed unbothered; in fact, his hole body was limp. Arms were hanging down his sides, head tilted down and back crooked in an unnatural way. He looked more dead than alive. 

Liam took an unintentional step backwards, out from the dead zone under his feet. He almost expected the anxiety to disappear as suddenly as it came, but it didn’t. He felt like strong hands were pushing down on his chest, like someone was trying to block out and claw inside at the same time.

That’s when he realized it wasn’t his own feelings he was experiencing. The anxiety didn’t go away when he stepped out of the cursed lands beneath him because he wasn’t the one feeling like he was about to burst; it was Theo.

And Theo was standing in the middle of it.

Still with his head tilted down, he spoke. “You should go.” His voice was faint and felt forced.

“I’m not leaving”, Liam replied softly, hesitating only a moment before stepping onto the dead ground, forcing his legs to move until he was standing only a meter away from Theo. 

“You should go”, Theo repeated, “it’s not… you can’t be here. You don’t understand.”

“I can feel it”, Liam mumbled, “I thought it was me, but it’s you. You’re hurting.”

Theo shook his head, finally looking up. His eyes were swollen, red with tears he was holding in. His face was strained and empty of any emotion. “I’m not hurting.”

“You’re fucking hurting!” Liam almost yelled, voice echoing through the thick trees. “I can feel it, Theo! I can feel you, every god damn emotion running through your body. I feel like I’m going to fucking die and I don’t understand why I’m not having a full blown panic attack right now because I’ve never felt like this before!”

Theo looked at him for a long time before speaking. His lips twitched in a humourless smile. “You learn to control it.”

“Control what? Your emotions?”

Theo nodded. “I can’t let it out Liam”, his voice was more desperate now, like he wanted to plead for help. “I can’t.”

Liam shook his head, “it doesn’t work like that”, he sighed, “you’re not weak because you show emotion.”

“I’m not weak”, Theo agreed slowly, “but if i let this… if i let all of it out, I will be. I don’t know what I will do.”

“It’s okay, whatever happens I will help you”, Liam assured, reaching out to touch his arm. Theo flinched back.

“No. You don’t get it, I don’t know what I will do. I don’t know who I will kill, what I will ruin. I… I can’t.”

Liam let out a shaky breath. It was hard to breathe, the pressure in his chest hardening with every second. “I’m not going to leave you.”

“You’re going to hate me!” Theo suddenly exploded. He took a fast step forward, eyes dark with emotion. “I’m going to ruin your life, why can’t you see that? I’m going to ruin fucking everything!”

“You can’t decide that for me, Theo!” Liam yelled back, clenching his fists, “you’re not weak because you let your emotions out. I know you saw the same things I did back when Amelia arrived, I know  _ you _ know that something is missing, and I know you remember somewhere deep down, what happened to your parents. You need to let it go, you need to remember!”

“I’m not letting myself fall”, Theo growled, “I’m not.”

“You know you only need to ask and I’m here! Whenever-”

“You don’t ask for power, Liam!” Theo yelled, voice echoing through the trees, “you take it!”

Liam felt the tears burning in his eyes and he wasn’t sure whether he was sad or angry. Most likely a mix of both. “You’re not a bad person, Theo”, he got out through gritted teeth.

“Yes, I am”, Theo snapped, “I don’t know why you keep making excuses for me! The people I’ve killed, the people I’ve hurt-”

“Because I love you!” Liam yelled as the first, salty tear left his eye.

Theo stared at him. Liam wasn’t sure what emotions was written across his face, he couldn’t tell. “No”, Theo mumbled, staring down at the ground before glancing up to meet his eyes. “You don’t.”

“Yes I fucking do!” Liam continued yelling as he fought back the tears, “so pull yourself out of this fucking bullshit! I’m not gonna let you kill yourself over something that happened years ago!”

“You don’t know me”, Theo tried, but his voice was low now, desperate and pleading. “You can’t love me, Liam.”

“I do know you”, he sighed, and this time Theo didn’t flinch when he wrapped his surprisingly cold fingers around his wrist. “don’t say that.”

Theo swallowed thickly. “You can’t love me. I don’t know what I’ll do if I let myself remember, Liam.”

“That’s okay”, Liam assured, “I’m willing to take the risk, that’s why I’m here, alright? I wasn’t gonna let you run out of my life without a goodbye.”

Theo chuckled sadly, “you knew I was leaving?”

“I figured you saw what I saw, so there was no way in hell you were staying.”

Theo shrugged lightly, “yeah. It was like someone was shooting memories in my brain. I didn’t even remember running away or shifting until I saw you next to me.”

Liam grinned, shoulders relaxing as the prior tension seemed to drift away a bit. “You make a pretty sexy wolf, I gotta say.”

Theo rolled his eyes, groaning. “If you say that again I’ll claw your eyes out.”

Liam laughed at him, tugging on his arm towards the end of the dead circle they were standing in the middle off. Theo got the hint and let himself get dragged onto the green grass again.

“What is this place?” Liam asked him.”

Theo glanced back at their previous position. “I don’t know”, he said honestly, “but bad things happened here. Bad enough to kill the earth.”

“Is this where… where it happened?” Where your parents died?”

“I don’t know”, Theo said again, “I just let the wolf take over. I’ve been here in my dreams before.”

“What happens in your dreams?”

Theo glared at him suspiciously, “you’re just trying to get me to let my guard down, aren’t you?”

A small smile played on Liam’s lips, “or I just want to know what you dream about?”

Theo was silent for a long time, but just before Liam decided to ask again, he took a deep breath and spoke. “It’s always dark. Like, you don’t know where you are or were you’re going, but you just know you need to go.”

Liam closed his eyes. “Yeah?”

“And I always feel like I’m being chased by something that will kill me if I slow down. But if i reach this circle, this land of the dead, I’m safe. Nothing can reach me here. It’s like a sudden relief, when you think you fucked up but then realise you didn’t. Like that time you thought you forgot to take the food out from the oven but then realized you didn’t even put on the oven.”

Liam frowned at the memory. 

“And I’m standing here and… and my parents are here.” His voice was strained, forcing out the memories of his fragile dreams. “They’re dead. They’re… They have holes where their hearts are supposed to be, just like my sister, just like I did to her. It’s a copy to how I killed her.”

“Theo…” Liam mumbled slowly, eyes still pressed closed, “did you kill your parents?” It was a question he didn’t want to ask but he knew he had to. He had to know.

He heard Theo catch his breath, but his voice was steady and clear when he replied. “I didn’t kill my parents.”

“Okay.”

“You believe me?” He sounded surprised.

“I believe you.”

“Oh.” A moment of silence. “I don’t know how I know that, I just do.”

Liam glanced up at him. “Killing your sister didn’t force your full shift, so why would killing your parents?”

His logic seemed to relax the chimera a little bit. “Yeah. I guess that makes sense.”

Liam nodded, “it does. What about your dream, does anything else happen?”

“Mhm”, Theo got out from pressed lips. He stared down at his hands, “my mum looks up at me. She’s dead, but she looks at me. She says something. It’s like a whisper, a desperate whisper, like she know she’s supposed to be dead but she just has to get it out, like it’s the most important thing in the world, like she knows I can’t live without hearing-” His pitch got higher and higher with every part of the dream coming back to him.

“Theo.”

The chimera fell silent, breathing in heavily before continuing, “she tells me it’s not my fault. She looks me dead in the eye and she says ‘Theo, whatever they say, it wasn’t your fault.’”.

Whatever they say, it wasn’t your fault. Maybe that wasn’t a dream Theo was telling him about, maybe it was a memory? Or parts of a broken memory? It felt too… specific. And oddly familiar, like Liam almost had been there himself. “Do you know what she meant?”

Theo shook his head. “No. I have no idea.”

“Theo”, Liam sighed, “what did you see behind Amelia?”

The chimera froze. His eyes quickly became fixed on something in front of him and Liam knew he was trying to focus on something real. It was an easy trick in the book to avoid drifting off to think about whatever he had been seeing behind the huntress earlier. 

“What did you see?” Liam asked again, voice sharp. 

“They were carrying bags”, Theo grasped through gritted teeth. Liam recognized the strain in his voice; he was trying to hold his anger in. “The doctors were carrying bags, that is.”

“Yeah.”

“They saw me. And… the fucking- the fucker hushed me. He held out his fucking finger and he hushed me.”

Liam clenched his jaw. He hadn’t seen that. “Did he say anything?”

“No. He just fucking hushed me and put those fucking body bags on the ground.”

“Body bags?”

“Of course they were”, Theo snapped, glaring at him, “I could smell them. They dared to bring them to me.”

“Who was in the bags?”

“You know who was in those fucking bags”, Theo was staring at him.

“So tell me.”

“Fuck you, Liam.”

Liam didn’t let go when Theo tried to snap his arm back. He held on because he knew if he lost him now, if he lost contact now, Theo would be gone forever. This was the only chance he was going to get.

“No. Who was in the bags, Theo?”

“My parents. So, you happy now? Can you go home to your sweet family and kiss mommy goodnight without bothering me again, please?”

“You’re not scaring me away.”

“Maybe I could kill them”, Theo hummed angrily, “I kill them, and everyone you love. Everyone you ever cared about, how about Hayden? Scott? I’ve done it before, I can do it again. I’ll kill everyone. Isaac, Mason, Corey-”

Liam gritted his teeth. He knew what Theo was doing; trying to get him angry, trying to get him to leave. It wasn’t going to work. “Not biting”, Liam crossed his arms over his chest.

“Sure, we’ll see what you say about that when I drag your mum’s corpse over the street. You could smell the blood for days after, soaking the streets. She won’t be alive to tell you any last words, how much she loves you. I bet that would be her last words though, don’t you think?” Theo laughed loudly, “looking at me with those kind eyes, begging me not to kill her. Think of Liam, Theo! How can you do this to him, to us? Blah, it’s making me sick. Doesn’t it make you sick?”

The smile on Theo’s lips was enough to send shivers down Liam’s spine. He didn’t reply, because he knew his voice would reveal the sick feeling rising in his throat as he pictured what Theo was describing.

“I bet Mason would be fun to kill”, Theo laughed, “he’d definitely be begging for you to come and save him. Oh, my alpha! My best friend, my alpha! Oh please, save me! Patethic, isn’t it? These people have no own thoughts, no own souls. You can’t spend your life following someone like you.”

“Like me?” Liam managed to get his voice controlled enough to speak.

“Yeah. Weak. I won’t live my life following someone weak, what would that make me look like? A fucking whimp. Just like you, look at yourself Liam, you out here telling me you love me, who the fuck are you?”

“You’re not scaring me away, Theo. I read you like a fucking book. I know what you're trying to do and it's not working. I am not leaving you.”

“You think just because those doctors came dragging one some fucking body bags that I’d break, just like that? I don’t care about those people. I don’t even know who they are, why would I care?”

“What do you mean?”

“You think just like them. Think that you can just throw body bags in front of me and I’ll cry myself to sleep? I’ve seen dead people before, that doesn’t scare me.”

“But they were your parents?”

“Yeah, but why would the other dead bodies scare me?”

Liam frowned. “Other bodies? What are you talking about?”

Theo threw his hands out. “The doctors! The ten, or whatever, body bags they were carrying? I didn’t care about those people.”

“Ten body bags?” This was new. Very new. 

“I didn’t count, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Liam shook his head. “No, Theo. I only saw two. You saw more than that?”

“I-” Theo hesitated suddenly. “Fuck, Liam.”

Liam grabbed his wrists, hands runnings up his arms until they reached his neck. Theo’s skin was way too hot, burning under his light touch. “Hey, look at me. Theo, you’re not scaring me away with your bullshit. I need you to trust me.”

“I can’t”, he breathed, tears filling his eyes. He blinked rapidly as to hide it, but Liam saw. Liam saw everything he was feeling in that short moment he let his guard down. He saw the anger, the sadness, the confusion, the hatred. And he saw love.

"Fuck that. Theo, do you trust me?"

The chimera looked up at him, eyes pleading. Then, he nodded. "I trust you."

“Who was in the other body bags, Theo?”

“In my dream”, Theo got out, breath speeding as he tried to get his thoughts together, tried to get his mind to work with him. Suddenly, his knees gave up and Liam just managed to catch him before they both fell on the ground. He sat them down slowly as Theo’s confused face turned blank. “It wasn’t just my parents in my dream”, he said slowly, “there was more. Maybe ten. I don’t remember. They were children. Just like my sister, they were her age. And their parents. All families like us.”

Theo looked up at him. “Please, Liam. Look.”

Liam closed his eyes and fell backwards, unconscious. 

 

-

 

_ Red lights everywhere. No, no they weren’t lights. The moonlight was red, shining down through the broken branches, filling the dead ground with so much color it almost hurt his eyes. _

_ Liam couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. He was tied with his hands behind his back and a thick gag in his mouth. He could barely breathe and the panic was rising steadily in his chest.  _

_ His mother was sitting on his right side, his father on his left. Behind him was his sister. No, he didn’t have a sister. But yet, there she was, yelling, screaming and crying for help.  _

_ In front of him, three figures were standing. He recognized them but couldn’t put a name to them. They looked like scientists, but scarier. Fuck, he was scared. He was absolutely terrified. _

_ They had a child sitting in front of them. He wasn’t old, not much older than himself, maybe even the same age? The child was crying, silent tears running down his cheeks. His shoulders were hanging, his body screamed of defeat.  _

_ “Theo.” One of the scientists spoke. _

_ Theo, the boy, looked up. He had his jaw clenched, lips pressed together in a thin line. He wasn’t tied, he wasn’t gagged like everyone else. But he wasn’t running either. Liam wanted to tell him, to yell at him to leave, run away. Save yourself. He knew was going to die. _

_ He could just feel it. He knew there was no way out of this.  _

_ “Choose.” The scientist said. _

_ Theo shook his head violently. “I’m not gonna kill my mum”, he sobbed, “I’m not!” _

_ “Then these families will suffer your fate.” _

_ “No!” Theo yelled and big, terrified eyes met Liam’s. “No, please!” _

_ What were they talking about? His mother? Liam saw the two other tied up figures on the other side of Theo, was that his parents? Was he supposed to kill them? _

_ “Kill them or they all die.” _

_ Theo shook his head again. “This is not what you promised! This wasn’t the deal!” _

_ Deal? What deal? _

_ “You told your parents about us, you knew it was against the rules. You knew what would happen.” _

_ “They won’t tell anyone!” Theo yelled, “they won’t! I promise! Please, let them go! It was a mistake” _

_ The scientists stood in their place, not moving a muscle. “I can’t. They know too much.” The leader of the three let his hand gesture over Liam and his family, “either kill your parents or we’ll kill all of them.” _

_ “This is a stupid prank”, Theo laughed hysterically, running his sweaty hands through his hair, “this is- this is not like my sister! You tricked me, you-” _

_ Oh.  _

_ Liam hadn’t noticed that someone snuck up behind him, and therefore it wasn’t surprising that he wasn’t expecting the sudden, sharp pain in his chest. He looked down and saw a pointy cane sticking through his chest, red, thick blood dripping out from the fresh wound. _

_ Oh, Liam thought again. Fuck. His mother was screaming next to him, but he couldn’t make out words. Maybe they weren’t any.  _

_ Then, his vision started to fail him and everything Liam could think of was holy fucking shit, that’s how I died. _

_ The world went black and he died to the sound of Theo's desperate scream echoing in his head. It wasn't his fault. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can find me on tumblr [@thrashton ](http://thrashton.tumblr.com)♡
> 
> sorry if this isn't as good as usual, I've been in a block for a while and not written anything so...

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this dumb fic!! I love to hear your inputs and comments, so please leave them down below or hmu at tumblrrrrr @thrashton 
> 
> LOVE U


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